Vermont Business Magazine The Bennington Regional Chamber of Commerce recently released its annual membership survey results. The survey, which was sent to 569 member representatives consisting of 430 businesses, was completed in November. Twenty five percent of the representatives who were sent the survey via SurveyMonkey completed the survey.
“Feedback is a gift,” Matt Harrington, executive director of the regional chamber of commerce says. “We asked for comments, engagement and feedback from our members and they provided it. They didn’t have to, but they did and we need to appreciate their honesty, time spent and candidness for us to improve.”
Provide feedback they did, with twenty one questions to answer, members provided feedback on how the chamber is meeting their overall needs, how the membership feels about the chamber’s recent 2020 vision to expand throughout the county, what chamber programs and products members like the most and areas of development the members would like the chamber to pursue in the future.
“I think the best news is 82% of our membership is either very satisfied or satisfied with how we’re meeting their needs. This is a 10% jump from last year. Equally, we sawa 50% decrease in the percentage of “Less than Satisfied,’” reported Harrington.
Harrington continued, “We also saw improvement in ‘meeting’ and ‘exceeding expectations’ in 6 areas: marketing support, business support, community awareness, legislative voice, community events and insurance options. The new category of “educational program offerings” met or exceeded expectations among 66% of respondents.”
Since Harrington joined the chamber in January of 2016 in which he recalls membership holding at about 320-340, the membership has grown by 35%. Partnerships with the MBA (Manchester Business Association), as well as an aggressive 3-year effort to redesign and communicate what a chamber of the 21stcentury should and could be is part of the success Harrington acknowledges. “Health care becoming an option again also helped with a late 2018 surge in membership.”
Eighty nine percent of respondents felt that the communication they have with the Chamber is extremely good to acceptable with a 5% shift from “acceptable” to “extremely good” from last year’s survey. Ninety three percent of respondents feel staff (including the Director) is highly and usually approachable with great follow-through; this is an increase from 89% last year.
“Our staff and the culture we’ve been able to create within the chamber is a cornerstone of our success,” states Harrington. “Everyone says they have great staff and partners, but I think the data here proves that even more for us. Our staff is friendly and hardworking. They know what’s at stake. Our mission is to improve the lives of our regional businesses and the citizens of the county. I know the staff and board lead with that in their own mission every day. ‘Lead where you stand,’ we like to say. From cleaner to front desk attendant to director – everyone has a leadership role to play.”
Harrington admits there is still much to accomplish for this chamber, “We’ve still got a lot of work to do. We know small businesses are still struggling. Marketing awareness, customers in stores buying products and services are challenges. Additionally, the shrinking workforce and the ability to find qualified cooks, carpenters, administrators and the like is difficult. Our hope, with a growing voice of business members in the chamber, is that we can start to push the tide the other way. That through size and strategic, smart partnerships, we can be a chamber that provides our membership with what it needs and provide our communities with a safe and great quality of life.”
Areas for expansion recognized in the survey wereoverwhelmingly social media marketing services at 49%, healthcare, customer service training, and a combination of legal services, succession planning, hiring and retaining workforce, human resources, and leadership training also made top of the list.
When asked for areas of improvement, Harrington acknowledged the need for even greater communication with the members and public. Additionally, he felt that there is still some competition between the north and south shires predominantly around where the chamber puts its attention. He hopes he can continue to communicate the larger picture of a unified region and lean on staff, board, chamber committees and members to help accomplish the chamber’s 2020 vision.
The chamber will host its annual members’ meeting and social on Friday, January 18that 5:30pm at the Bennington College. The meeting will highlight the chamber initiatives for 2019 and begin the final phase of the chamber’s 2020 vision.
Source:(The Shires of Vermont – Bennington County, Vermont) -- The Bennington Regional Chamber of Commerce