Chamber Launches New Tiered Membership Investment Structure

It’s all about choice…and improved membership benefits.

After careful consideration by The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, staff and the Membership Committee, The Chamber is  changing the way members will invest. Like many chambers during the past decade, we are moving to a tiered dues system which provides benefits based on the investment level a member selects.

In the past, businesses joined and paid membership dues solely based on the number of employees in their organizations. This criteria is still applied but in the new structure, members choose the benefits that they want and need,  then invest accordingly.   The Chamber’s new “tiered” system provides increased benefits with comparable  dues – plus many new benefits, even at the Classic entry level .

Why?

You’re probably wondering why The Chamber would make such a change in the way we do business. Why would we adjust our price structure and change our revenue stream? The answer is simple:  It guarantees equity and choice when choosing a membership package that is important to your business and is aligned with the Chamber’s mission of Better Business, Better Community.

We listened carefully to the benefit requests of our membership and benchmarked similar chambers benefit offerings.  We found that most chambers  valued different benefits for a variety of reasons. For some, having a voice in advocacy was most important. For others, the ability to network and advertise was paramount. These requests weren’t necessarily based on the size of the business or the number of employees. The “one size fits all” wasn’t working.

The solution was to develop several levels of benefits that matched the membership dues investment.

Increasing Benefits Across All Levels

The Chamber began to consider changing to a different membership structure in 2007 as we benchmarked and learned from other chambers that made the switch. The staff studied the effects the change would have on the organization and membership.

At the same time, member benefits were scrutinized, evaluated and measured. Some remained or were changed, many were created and others removed altogether.

For example:

  • Members can still list their business under three categories on The Chamber’s website and once in the hard copy directory, but we’ve added 10-50 word business descriptions for members who choose the Executive-Elite levels.
  • We still have free programs and events for all members plus reduced pricing for other events and programs with your membership.
  • We’ve launched a program called BizLink that is offered at the Executive level and up which offers business related workshops/seminars and select networking opportunities.
  • We’re transitioning away from the “Gold Member” status as we realized there were better ways to promote and give value to those members who choose to support The Chamber at higher levels.  We are adding a “Loyalty Member” status and recognition program to businesses with 5+ years of membership.

The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce has seven membership  levels to choose from .

We encourage you to review the new membership levels and maximize your membership benefits by going to our website at www.chamberbloomington.org for more information.

In Transition…

We recognize adopting the tiered benefits system is a significant change for Chamber members. The transition will be paced and will allow plenty of time for adjustment.

  • Entry level members will be slotted into the Classic Level at the time of their renewal.
  • Chamber staff will meet personally with members over the next 18 to 20 months to discuss the added benefits and opportunities.
  • Those who are currently a “Gold Member” will continue to be listed as such until your organization moves to the tiered level system.

The staff and Board of Directors are committed to continuing the process of regularly reviewing member benefits and we welcome your feedback.

Please visit The Chamber’s website, http://www.chamberbloomington.org, for detailed information about the membership levels.   If you have any questions, contact me at morlowski@ChamberBloomington.org or call 812.336.6381.

Thank you for supporting our mission to Build Better Business and Better Community!