During a recent conversation, a friend expressed her irritation when companies offer great introductory specials to new customers, but yet do nothing to honor long-term customers – the customers they should value the most! It’s certainly a valid point. In Marketing 101, students learn that it can be up to 5x more cost-effective to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one. So why is it that we struggled to think of a single time that a business has honored our long-term patronage? How about you? Do you know of a business who does this well? How about you? Does your business do this well?
Chamber Cornerstone Club
With the goal of recognizing our loyal members, the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce has a long-standing Cornerstone Club, which is an honor given to members who have supported the Chamber through their membership for 20 or more consecutive years. These members are truly invested in the Chamber and their community, recognizing that their success and community success has a strong connection. At this time, we recognize Cornerstone Members each year at our Annual Meeting in a page in our program and by mailing a thank you letter, and now in this blog post. We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on what more can be done, while being mindful that the Chamber operates on a tight budget.
Guess how many members are in the Cornerstone Club…
Would it surprise you to learn that there are currently 237 Chamber members that have maintained their membership for 20+ years? The member records we have stored at the Chamber go back 44 years to 1974, which ironically is the year I was born. It boggles my mind to think we have members who maintained their membership longer than I have been on this earth!
We can’t thank our 237 Cornerstone Members enough for the support that has been provided to the Chamber over the years through Chamber membership and beyond—even the years where the economy was struggling mightily. If you have a moment, it would be wonderful if you could also take the time to look over this list of Cornerstone Members and pick one or two to thank for their loyal support of the Chamber and community.
And finally to the remaining 763 members, we hope to continue to meet and exceed your expectations as your Chamber of Commerce so we will be honoring you as a Cornerstone Member in the future!
Thank you to each and every member of the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce!
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