A Podcast for Chamber Professionals Posts

Dionne Neubauer joins us this week from the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce to cover the topic of “applauding the return to the office”.

We chose this title for this episode since we wanted to highlight some of the things to consider when your members start to return back to the office after working from home for the past year but we also wanted to work the word applauding into the topic to touch on a lesson learned as the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber started to resume in-person/hybrid events.

As Dionne shares this learning experience, she also tells of the efforts her Chambers has and is still making to return to more in-person and even hybrid events. We have all become accustomed to a new Zoom world where we live on mute unless we are the presenter and we need to pay attention to social etiquettes as we move forward and return to in-person.

If you would like to connect with Dionne about anything she discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see her contact information below:

• LinkedIn
• findlayhancockchamber.com

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Boyd Stough from Espy Revenue joins us for this episode as he shares his passion to save small businesses by futureproofing them with the tools that Chambers of Commerce have at their disposal.

As you listen to Boyd talk about this subject, you can feel his energy radiate as he explains how Chambers of Commerce are a hedge against the economy. He believes that Chambers are in the right place to protect and prepare small businesses for the future.

One of the examples that Boyd points to is the ideas of standardizing the expectations, experiences, and outcomes for your members. He points out how every Chamber is different in their areas of focus and value propositions and how that can be confusing to the small business owner who is looking for the experience and outcome he/she had with another Chamber as they are now in a new community and they often find that the experience and outcomes are very different.

Boyd help organizations to create a value management infrastructure that will measure primary success metrics which will lead to a more expected or desired outcome for your members.

The parting thought that Boyd shares is that Chambers are the world’s most powerful business resource. He encourages you to look internally and ask yourself, why is this true?

If you would like to connect with Boyd about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: Boyd@EspyRevenue.com
• 210-722-1120

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Houssem Eddine Touil is my first international guest on Chamber Chat Podcast. Houssem is the President of the Tunsia Estonia Chamber of Commerce and he is also the Founder of Clecow which is a digital consulting agency with a goal of connecting local organizations worldwide.

It is under the scope of Clecow that Houssem set out to collect data and conduct interviews with influential Chamber leaders across the world to produce the 2021 Global Chamber Index.

The Global Chamber Index is a digital publication to explore the findings from the surveys that were conducted to learn how the COVID-19 pandemic has effected Chambers worldwide and to help chart the direction moving forward.

In our discussion Houssem shared several key findings from their surveys such as the percentage of growth for certain Chambers through the pandemic. One surprising piece of data was that 45% of Chamber members (from the Chambers who participated) are women-led.

Some of the findings are on par for what someone in the Chamber world would expect, while others are eye-opening. I would encourage you to look through these findings in the 2021 Global Chamber Index and be on the lookout for an invitation to participate in the 2022 edition.

If you would like to connect with Houssem about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• chamberindex.com
• Email: Houssem@clecow.com
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Joe Duemig, co-founder of App My Community joins us for this episode to share some thoughts on how a community facing mobile app could benefit your Chamber.

Joe is a software developer with a focus on the user experience. For the past four years he has been creating mobile apps for RV resorts and Chambers of Commerce.

His idea behind Chambers having a mobile app to serve their community is beneficial in several ways. The app provides value to those in your community. It provides a platform to leverage in partnerships with local fairs, farmers markets, or other similar events in your community. It allows for push notifications for your Chamber members to directly communicate with their customers. A mobile app helps to keep your Chamber relevant in a world with fast changing technology.

As Joe talks about the process of setting up a new Chamber with a mobile app, he explains how it can go live in a matter of 30 days!.

When it comes to the finances, in many cases, one business or entity can “sponsor” the cost for the app while still allowing for many opportunities to monetize the app through other advertising opportunities or special business features to provide your Chamber with non-dues revenue.

App My Community is a new sponsor for Chamber Chat Podcast and as a sponsor, Joe is offering a 10% discount for listeners of the podcast. Be sure to visit appmycommunity.com/chamberchat to learn more, to build a simulation of your new Chamber app, and to access this generous offer.

If you would like to connect with Joe about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: joe@armstrongsoft.com
• AppMyCommunity.com/chamberchat

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

April Bragg, President & CEO of the Robins Regional Chamber is our guest this week to share their success in building an online community.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Robins Regional Chamber was looking for a way to share information effectively throughout their community. Despite some of the fears and overwhelm that one might feel when thinking of starting an online community, they did it anyway. They launched a Facebook community and called it Robins To Go.

When they initially launched Robins To Go, April thought it would be a success if they had 1,500-2,500 people join. As it turned out, they had 10,000 people join in the first month and they are now up to 20,000 members.

By having an engaged community Facebook group, the Chamber has been made aware of additional opportunities to serve their community. They are even spinning off a couple of new Facebook groups based on the feedback they received through Robins To Go.

The bottom line is, April and her team saw a need in their community and filled it. You can do the same in your community if you are willing to fined the needs and then create a solution.

If you would like to connect with April about anything she discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see her contact information below:

• Email: abragg@robinsregion.com
• Facebook

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

David Bradley, President & CEO of the Athens Area Chamber is our guest this week to discuss their Education & Workforce Development activity in their community.

The topic of Education & Workforce Development is a hot topic at many Chambers. As I conduct our Chamber of the Year Finalist series each year, the majority of the Chambers I interview highlight their efforts on this front.

David shares what makes their Chamber’s approach unique and what is working so far for them. The Athens Area Chamber has a strong focus on making education a cornerstone in their economic development strategy.

This summer, the Athens Area Chamber has organized 15 externships for teachers to learn about the workforce needs in their community by getting immersed in the work of some of the areas large employers.

The Athens Area Chamber is also working on a very robust jobs database with a desired outcome of being the best, most comprehensive resource for people in their area to find employment.

If you would like to connect with David about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: david.bradley@athensga.com
• Office: 709-549-6800
• Cell: 704-253-3128

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Jay Byers was a highly requested guest to have on Chamber Chat Podcast. As Jay leads the Greater Des Moines Partnership (#DSMUSA) and is the current chair of ACCE, it was a pleasure to have him on the show.

For this episode, we focused our discussion around the idea of how your Chamber can tell the story of your community by leveraging your rankings. There are many resources and media outlets who conduct surveys, do the research, and produce lists to showcase the “best” cities in certain categories.

Is your community showing up on any of these lists? Are there lists that you would like to compete for a ranking on? Do you see any similar or competing communities on these lists?

Jay tells how The Partnership has been able to leverage some of their rankings. He even talks about how they get their members and community to engage and to help in telling their story by using the hashtag #DSMUSA.

If you would like to connect with Jay about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: jbyers@dsmpartnership.com
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Jeff Rea is everywhere while he actively serves as the President & CEO of both the South Bend Regional Chamber and the The Greater Niles Chamber. In addition to running both Chambers, he also host a local TV program among several other activities that he is able to leverage as he talks about his Chambers.

While Jeff may be more of the exception than the rule when it comes to raising your Chamber’s profile in your community, he does cover several great ways to help your organization and your members.

One tip that he shared was to try to drive the news cycle as much as possible. This allows for news outlets to look to your organization for information and you highlight your members who fit within certain news stories.

If you would like to connect with Jeff about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: jrea@sbrchamber.com
• Phone: 574-400-4000

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

I am grateful we had Graham Cobb, President & CEO of the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber to address the topic of placemaking. Bentonville has done an incredible job making their community attractive to new businesses, residents, as well as visitors.

As we know, economic development is multifaceted and the draw for an individual or a business to make a move needs to be very compelling. Bentonville hits on every level to make their argument.

In our discussion, Graham talks about the many things that make Bentonville great. He talks about the museums, the arts, their ties with Walmart, and how they became the mountain bike capital of the world. Just as important as each of these highlights, is the accessibility for everyone to use these great features.

If you would like to connect with Graham about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: gcobb@greaterbentonville.com
• Instagram
• becausebentonville.com

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.