Buyers trust & support Chamber members

A 2012 consumer study provides some data to support what most of us have long known: membership in a local chamber is good for your small business’ bottom line.

Here’s why. As a chamber member, the scientific web-based survey by the Schapiro Group shows, you enjoy:

• a 44% increase in your consumer favorability rating
• a 51% increase in consumer awareness
• a 57% increase in your local reputation
• and a 63% increase in the likelihood that consumers will patronize your business in the future

Think about that for a minute. Regardless of what people in our community may or may not already know about our companies, they have a positive feeling about us simply because we work together under the Chamber umbrella. As a credit card company used to say, membership has its privileges.

Can you think of anything else that could generate that kind of local support? We can’t either.

The message here is pretty clear: we should all be actively promoting our membership in the Chamber. Here are some ways to do that — and they don’t cost a cent:

• Mention it in your advertising and on your website
• Post it on your shop window and by the cash register
• Add it to your business cards
• Put the word out through your social media
• Talk about it whenever someone asks you about your business

Telling buyers that we’re all part of the Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce effectively conveys that we use good business practices, are involved in our community, care about our customers, and are reputable.

As the Schapiro study shows, that’s what matters to buyers. And that’s what they’ll pay for.