Why Your Chamber of Commerce Membership is the Best Investment You’ll Make for Your Business in 2025

Each year, we write a “How to Use Your Chamber of Commerce in the Upcoming Year” blog, and it’s always among our most read of the year.

This year, I’m disguising that concept with a little bit of a different hook.

Below, I’ll be talking about HOW you can use your chamber of commerce most effectively in 2025, but in this year’s hit the ground running article, I’m going to talk a little bit more about WHY.

YOUR 12-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION

Marketers like to break product and service costs down to the smallest manageable number to accentuate the deal you’re getting…

“For less than $4 a day…”

Well, your chamber of commerce membership is no different – especially when you’re getting started.

We’ll use a basic chamber membership – no bells and whistles – to look at this…

Typically, a basic chamber membership is between, say, $250 and $400… Let’s say $350.

There are 365 days in 2025, so for less than $1 a day, you have access to everything your chamber of commerce offers.

Not a bad deal, as a tool to grow your business.

The key is to use it.

When we do our Member Value Workshop with chambers around the country, I’m firm with attendees – especially small businesses…

I tell them, “If you can’t make back a $350 investment in 12 months, you need to rethink your business model.”

Let’s talk about how you do that.

I’M NOT JUST THE PRESIDENT, I’M ALSO A CLIENT

Before I get into that, for those who haven’t read my blogs before, you should know that here at Momentum – The Business Growth Agency, we practice what we preach.

First, 100% of our marketing is done via chambers of commerce.

Every dollar. Because it works.

Second, even though we’re a small firm, we belong to 10 chambers of commerce in multiple states, and in Canada.

That’s a big investment – and I should note that it’s not just the $350 members, but also sponsorships when appropriate…

But it has done nothing but create ROI for us.

Some of our memberships have yielded at least a 10x return for us – and that’s in revenue, not even counting intangibles.

I wanted to note that, because we never want to tell YOU what to do – and then go do something different.

We’re in this to win it, and will make the bold statement that there is no more effective place for you to be putting your marketing dollars than your chamber of commerce (with a strategy, of course).

Let’s get to how to use your membership in 2025:

CREATE A STRATEGY

This is what we do for companies at Momentum: help you create a strategy for getting the most ROI from your chamber of commerce (and other business association) memberships.

We do that in a few ways:

1. At Momentum – The Business Growth Agency, this is our primary service: working with our clients 52 weeks a year to strategize, negotiate, manage and implement their chamber memberships… No matter how many organizations they belong to.

2. We work directly with chambers of commerce for our in-person Member Value Workshops, where we walk 15-20 companies through the creation of their strategy… One of the chambers we work with, we’ve put more than 10% of their members through this program.

3. To spread what we do far and wide, we’ve created the Momentum AI Platform for Chambers of Commerce, allowing chamber members to receive an AI-generated, personalized strategy for their memberships, based on our proprietary algorithm.

Upcoming Member Value Workshops:

Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber – January 9, 10 a.m.

Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce – January 22, noon

In the end, having a plan in place to optimize your memberships is essential.

We’ve been able to grow because we (a) have the chamber relationships; (b) know how chambers work; and (c) know that with so many moving parts to marketing a business, this is an important area that often gets overlooked.

BE SEEN AT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

For most businesses, development of an in-person network is essential to growth.

In your home market or out-of-town, nowhere can you more reliably be seen by the people you want to see you than at your chamber of commerce.

You can throw all the metrics you want around for social media ad targeting…

But I know that if there’s someone in the business community that I need to talk to… I can find them at a chamber event.

As far as we’re concerned, there’s no better metric than standing face-to-face with an “A” prospect, a key referral partner, or a topical expert.

One of our current clients renewed our contract simply because we’d built our entire strategy around using the chamber to put them in front of one specific person that would yield significant dividends, and were successful in doing so.

Whether it’s specific people, titles, companies or industries you need to put your face in front of, the chamber is your place to do it.

What’s equally important is strategizing each interaction you have with your chamber, in addition to the big picture.

If you or your team are going to a Thursday evening mixer… Why?

What are you looking to accomplish?

Who are you looking to connect with?

Everyone is so busy now… None of us have time to waste… Creating your strategy will help you make the most of your time.

SAVE TIME WITH YOUR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

One of the most underutilized services that a chamber of commerce provides is what I like to call “help desk.”

What’s great about this service is that it doesn’t matter what size chamber you belong to – you can always call up and ask a pertinent, timely question.

Chambers are a network.

Generally, within that network is the answer to just about any question you might ask about growing your business.

Yes, AI has changed the game when it comes to finding quick answers…

But, sometimes, you want a live human being to walk you through your next step.

Sometimes, the localization and specificity of your challenge requires human interaction.

We say don’t waste time researching who to talk to yourself.

Call the chamber… “Can you connect me with someone who…”

They will.

Every time.

Now, will that answer ultimately be as free as sitting at your desk and researching?

Not always, but given that the referral came through the chamber and, presumably, the referee would like it to happen again…

In most cases we’ve found, there’s a worthwhile offer of assistance before a price is put on the table.

Don’t waste time in 2025 trying to figure out every technical question you have on your own.

Use your chamber membership as a resource.

BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Here’s the biggest secret, and the one thing that will really help you get the most out of your chamber membership in 2025:

Use 2025 to build a relationship with your chamber.

What does that mean?

If you’re in business, I don’t have to tell you that the best relationships you can make are reciprocal… They’re based on mutual value.

Your chamber of commerce relationship is no different.

You’ve gotten the ball rolling: you gave them a membership fee, and they’re giving you back an array of services.

Now what?

What Can You Give (to Get)?

We see three ways that you can provide value back to your chamber:

1. Cash money… Your chamber does important work in your community, and they need sustainable revenues to continue to do so. There are many sponsorship opportunities available at your chamber throughout the year – that support their efforts, but also provide outstanding marketing potential for you.

2. Elbow Grease… Most chambers, if you asked them, would say their job is bigger than the staff they have. So, they value volunteers greatly, whether it’s sitting on an event committee, serving as an ambassador, or showing up early to the annual gala to help with setup.

3. “I’m Here”… Making yourself available to your chamber team, and your fellow members, is huge. You’re succeeding in business because you have skills, knowledge and expertise. Whenever the chamber can utilize you to help them show value to your fellow members (as in the time-saving referral example above), it’s of tremendous benefit to them.

What does this do for you?

It creates a much stronger relationship – one that will be reciprocated.

Obviously, like in any aspect of life, you can buy your way into a relationship… Let’s be clear, a $25,000 chamber member can pretty much get whatever they want from the chamber.

But, for most businesses, spending that kind of money is not a reality.

So, where can you contribute your time, skills and energy to helping the chamber succeed?

How can you build a foundation of mutual value, so that when that one situation comes along where you need something significant – your chamber team is more than happy to help you?

ON TO 2025

None of this is rocket science for good businesspeople… But it’s also not necessarily something you’re sitting around thinking about.

I wrote this blog the morning of the day after Christmas.

It’s occurred to me that I could be the ONLY person on the planet who woke up Thursday morning thinking about how to make the most of my chamber of commerce memberships in the new year.

That’s ok, though, because we eat, sleep, live and breathe this stuff.

And, we do it for companies all over North America.

We often say that the most rewarding part of our work is connecting two people who then do great things together.

The chamber of commerce provides the best environment to make that happen.

NEXT STEPS TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS IN 2025

First, if you aren’t yet a member of your chamber of commerce, sign up for a membership right away. If you need help finding the chamber that’s right for you, let me know.

Second, I encourage you to identify what you want to accomplish through your chamber membership in 2025, and make sure that it aligns with your overall growth goals.

Third, communicate those things with your chamber team, so they can have you in mind throughout the year – for referrals, pitches and opportunities.

Of course, if you would like someone to handle all of this for you, so you can just show up and do what you do, let’s talk about it. Schedule a 15-minute Zoom call with us. We love this stuff, and look forward to hearing your story.