Recently, I read an article by Frank J Kenny (Chamber Professional) about the ways a Chamber can help members with the “Know, Like and Trust Formula”.
Here is a summary of how the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development can help you.
Getting Your Name Out There: How the Chamber Helps People Get to Know You:
Referrals: As the voice of business, visitors and people who are new to the area, often call on us for suggestions. We pride ourselves in giving reputable referrals and suggestions.
Networking Events: The easiest way to get to know more people is by meeting them in person. We offer a number of networking opportunities and can even help you become a better networker.
Introductions: Our chamber wants to introduce you to the kind of people who will be helpful to your business. Tell us who you want to meet and we will help arrange it.
Hosting: Our chamber has several events that could be hosted or sponsored by your business. This is the perfect way to help people get to know you better by visiting your store or business or sampling what you have to offer.
Advertisement: We offer three very affordable ways to advertise your business; e-mail blasts, newsletter ads and the yearly Community Directory.
Becoming More Likable Through Chamber Membership:
Likability is probably one of the easiest parts of the “know, like, and trust” formula for more sales but it is also the one most businesses feel awkward about. They often go about it through social media and their attempts to become more friendly come off as just being salesy. When that happens, it’s often because they haven’t attributed the same skills needed for an in-person conversation to social media.
Getting more involved in the social opportunities at the chamber can give you a lot of time to build on the likability factor. People must first know who you are to later be able to like you. Multiple chances to meet in events through the chamber can make networking easier and less awkward because you’re not playing to an unknown crowd. You learn a little bit more about them–and they about you–each time you meet.
There are many other ways the Chamber can help improve your “likeability”, this is just one good example.
How to build trust through the Chamber:
Sometimes the community knows what you do but doesn’t know enough about you to trust you. In these cases, a chamber membership is invaluable.
According to the Schapiro Study, “Chamber membership has consistent and powerful benefits for small business members—if consumers are aware that the small business is involved with its local chamber.”
Chamber membership goes a long way to helping businesses develop a trustworthy reputation. Many people see chambers as business entities or similar to the Better Business Bureau. While neither is true, these individuals apply the same feelings of community membership and upstanding reputations to the chamber members as they would a good rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Our Chamber can also help people trust you when you choose to associate or sponsor a well-loved community/chamber event. For instance, our Business Expo has a large following, and your business is a chamber partner or naming sponsor for that event, the reputation of the event spreads to your business as if you were hosting it yourself. It improves the trust people have for you.