3 Tips to Maxing Out Attendance at Your Next Chamber of Commerce Event

Finally, it’s time to get outside and join other community members discussing important local happenings and sharing business insights.

However, not all members share the same feelings about attending Chamber events. Whether they don’t have time, are unengaged with the meeting agenda, or would just rather head home and hit the BBQ after work, Summer meeting attendance can dwindle fast.

As you’re thinking up your next event, keep the following considerations in mind in order to max out your Summer meeting attendance:

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1. Pick a relevant topic that will help the businesses in your community

Your members are your members for many reasons, including networking opportunities, business exposure, access to community resources, and more. One of the biggest benefits of being involved with the Chamber of Commerce is the access to Chamber events, where there is almost always the opportunity to learn something new about your community or business related topics.

A sure-fire way to get attendees to join your Chamber events is to choose a relevant topic for your meetings and offer valuable content and resources that your members would not have had access to otherwise. So how do you find out what topics they are most interested in? Just ask. Holding meetings with topics that your members picked themselves will build member loyalty and engagement.

Tip: A great way to find out what your members want to learn about would be to send out an email survey. Consider a multiple choice question including topics that local businesses would find valuable such as Social Media, Tax Advice, HR Training, Graphic Design, Web Design or Email Marketing. You could also leave an open ended question in the survey so members could input their own topics and feedback.

2. Get meeting details in front of your members

Everyone is busy – especially during the summer. Because of this, it can be hard for your members to keep track of your meeting schedule, causing low attendance during summer months. It’s not because they don’t want to come – and remorse is most likely shared on both ends after a missed meeting.

An easy way to avoid this situation is to consistently communicate your meeting schedule with members. Don’t worry about being a pest – these meetings are to benefit your members and they will appreciate the information.

Tip: Use email marketing to get your meeting information to members. Try A/B testing to learn which content works best and to double check that your event marketing is getting into as many hands as possible. You could even do an email resend to contacts who did not open the event emails in the first place. This way, you are covering all of your bases and will certainly avoid the “I didn’t know there was a meeting today!” issue.

3. Include a keynote speaker

Another way to knock your next meeting out of the park is to include a subject matter expert to speak at your event. Having a speaker will help boost registration numbers and engagement, especially if it is on a topic that is relevant to your members.

Tip: Need ideas on finding speakers? One of your best resources is to look to your members themselves. Chances are you have subject matter experts right in your organization. Want to host a meeting on Financial Planning? Mark from the Bank is an actual Financial Planner that helps small businesses in his everyday job. Offer him a discount on his membership or the next networking event as an incentive. It is a win-win for both parties.

Super Tip: Here at Constant Contact, we have partnered with many marketing professionals that have become experts in our product, as well as public speaking, marketing, email marketing, graphic design, social media, web design, and more. If you’re hosting an upcoming event–or simply need to educate your organization on a business/marketing-related topic–you can request one of our speakers today. Some examples of topics include: Power of the Inbox, Email Marketing Quickstart, Automate your Marketing, Drive New Business with Social Media, and 30 Ways to Grow your Email List.

“Our Constant Contact speaker was phenomenal and left our attendees wanting more about how they can maximize their use of email marketing. He was relatable, friendly, and gave specific suggestions for each business owner in the room, evoking several “a-ha” moments. We were left with only glowing reviews from attendees.”

Nicole Hankton, San Leandro Chamber of Commerce

Don’t let Summer be your slow season

Following these tips will help you keep your Chamber events and meetings full with engaged members. The local business and Chamber of Commerce relationship will always be one that depends on each other. So give your members what they want and they will do the same for you.