John Madigan's Blog

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog.

If you don't know who I am, I have a brief bio here. 

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I hope you enjoy reading.

Warm regards,

John Madigan

Chamber Member Savings/Discount Programs

This post is part of an ongoing series on Chamber of Commerce leadership, organization, and membership. The posts are intended for Chamber staff but anyone who works in a membership organization can apply the concepts.

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Chamber Discount/Savings Programs

What often surprises me is how few real (i.e. valuable) discounts Chambers offer their members. A typical Chamber might have a discount for Office Depot and airport parking, but that's it. Why so few discounts?

Or worse yet, Chambers will offer their members "Hot Deals" or "Member to Member Discounts" that would more aptly be labeled advertising/marketing offers disguised as savings/discounts. 

It's a shame. Especially since Chambers have the benefit of leverage. They can leverage the number of businesses and employees they represent to get discounts and savings on products/services used by their members every day. 

So what gives?

A few reasons.

First, most Chambers don't have the time/resources to individually negotiate deals on behalf of their members. This isn't a good excuse because if Chamber don't have time to create new additional member benefits, what are they spending their time doing?

A second, better excuse is that trying to negotiate deals for one Chamber doesn't create enough leverage to get significant discounts. Vender's need thousands of people using the deals, not hundreds.

A third excuse is that Chambers only want to offer deals to their members that offer a commission back to the Chamber. And since the majority of vendors do not offer a commission, Chambers don't offer their deals.

If you're a Chamber staff member and any of these excuses make you mad or frustrated, they should. Chamber can (and should) do better in this regard. How you ask?

One option is to partner with other Chambers/associations. What if Chambers were to aggregate multiple Chamber's members? Then, there would be enough leverage to negotiate serious deals from national brands.

Enter Cost Cooperative.

Cost Cooperative is our newest partner at the Santa Monica Chamber (where I act as the Membership Director). They are leveraging the buying power of multiple Chambers and associations and their members to get great deals for Chamber members.

Before you ask, no, our Chamber isn't making any money from this partnership. Our goal is to create real benefits for our members that will lead to more businesses wanting to join the Chamber (thus increasing membership sales).

The  more Chambers that get involved, the bigger the negotiating power will be and the greater the benefits/savings participating Chambers can offer their members.

There isn't any good reason Chambers shouldn't join forces and create a real savings/discounts platform that's filled with great offers from recognizable (and trusted) brands. 

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What do you think? Is this something your Chamber would be interested in? Have you seen platforms like this before and if so, what has been your experience with them?

Creating & Evaluating Member Benefits

This post is part of an ongoing series on Chamber of Commerce leadership, organization, and membership. The posts are intended for Chamber staff but anyone who works in a membership organization can apply the concepts.

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Member Benefits

A constant discussion among membership organizations is the right number of member benefits. Are more benefits better? Less benefits? Should weaker benefits be eliminated?

There aren't any easy answers to these important questions. And because each Chamber is different, the number and type of member benefits will vary.

Since there is such a diversity in the type/number of member benefits, Chambers should be more concerned with a process of member benefit creation and evaluation. If there is a solid process, then the appropriate number and type of member benefits will emerge.

Defining a Member Benefit

What is a member benefit?

It's a solution to a member need. For example, members come to the Chamber with the desire to expand their professional network. They want/need to make more professional connections. To satisfy that need, the Chamber organizes networking events.

Member benefits are the lifeblood of Chambers (and other membership organizations). And because they play such an important role, it's critical that Chambers use a process to ensure the quality of those benefits.

Here is a 4 step process to create and evaluate member benefits. 

4 Steps Process to Create & Evaluate Member Benefits

Step 1: Create

The first step is coming up with an idea for a benefit. Maybe it comes from Chamber staff or directly from the members. Maybe you'll be approached by companies with partnership ideas for new member benefits.

But tread carefully, always make sure that the benefit is really a solution to a member need. You'll recognize a need when multiple members start asking for help with a certain aspect of their business or asking if your Chamber sells a certain product/service. 

For example, suppose a number of members asked if they can promote their events on your online events calendar. Since your events calendar is probably just for Chamber events, you might say no. But, you might also realize that if enough members are asking for this, it could indicate a need that the Chamber could solve with a member benefit (i.e. creating a community calendar). Proceed to step 2.

Step 2: Implement

The second step is taking the idea and evaluating/gathering the resources to implement it. This step starts with questions and ends with action. Here are some questions you can ask yourself before implementing the benefit:

• Complexity of implementation?
• Costs associated with implementation? (staff time, money, energy)
• Projected members served?
• Ongoing maintenance (cost, time, energy) of benefit?
• Can the benefit be self-service (i.e. not require staff time/energy once implemented)?
• Can the Chamber provide this benefit better than anyone else in the Community?

Consider these questions a quick cost/benefit analysis for your suggested member benefit. By doing some basic due diligence, you can weed out the losers and focus your attention on the benefits that have real potential.

Building on the community calendar example in Step 1 above, it is probably simple to implement a new community calendar on your website. Ask your web manager to give you a quick estimate on cost. The projected members served could be quite large, since members have their own events all the time. Ongoing maintenance is a tricky one. Many online calendars are not self-service. This means that every time someone wanted to add a new event to the calendar, you would need to manually input the event information. This may raise a red flag. Finally, it's worth a quick web search to research other event calendars for your community. Is this a resource the Chamber can provide that will be better than the other event calendars in your community. Or will it just be buried on your Chamber website? 

These are the sort of questions your staff must evaluate before fully implementing the new benefit. In the final analysis, you'll know whether or not to implement the benefit. 

Step 3: Promote

Three words: communicate, communicate, communicate. No one cares about benefits they don't know about.

The Chamber must communicate two things: (1) the benefit and; (2) how to use it. Do they need to contact a specific staff member? Create an account? Call an account rep?  

Whether you do this through email, direct mail, phone or in person, communicating the benefits available and how to use them will make or break your offering of benefits.

Step 4: Evaluate

Constant evaluation is essential to member benefit relevancy. Still think your members gain tons of value from a "business listing" on your website? Think again.

It's almost sacrosanct to eliminate a benefit and thus, the list of member benefits just keeps growing. But guess what? It's OK to eliminate member benefits. It's better to eliminate weak benefits if it creates more resouces to focus on the stronger ones.

Some questions to consider when evaluating a benefit (similar to the questions you ask before implementing a new member benefit):

• What member need does this benefit serve?
• Approximate number of members served?
• Ongoing costs associated with the benefit? (staff time, money, energy)
• Can the Chamber provide this benefit better than anyone else in the community?
• Approximate value of this benefit to members?
• Would anyone notice if the benefit was eliminated?

For many Chambers, Step 4 should be the first step in the process. There already have a list of members benefits that hasn't been evaluated for months (or even years). Evaluating each benefit one by one will shed light on benefits that need to be enhanced, changed or eliminated.

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Thoughts? Does your Chamber use a process to routinely evaluate member benefits and their relevance?

How many members do you have? (Hint: the answer isn't that important)

This post is part of an ongoing series on Chamber of Commerce leadership, organization, and membership. The posts are intended for Chamber staff but anyone who works in a membership organization can apply the concepts.

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How many members do you have?

After attending the annual WACE Conference (a conference for Chamber Executives), I was reminded of the typical question Chamber Execs routinely ask each other every year to gage their own Chamber's performance. That questions is "how many members to you have?"

The problem with this question is that the answer is relatively unimportant (other than a general barometer of Chamber size). Sure, in a membership organization like a Chamber of Commerce one piece of data is the number of members.  

But does the number of members really give a Chamber a good sense of the strength of its organization? I think not. Wouldn't a Chamber rather have 500 committed members instead of 750 apathetic ones? Without a doubt. 

Instead of focusing on the number of members, Chambers should focus on the value (i.e. quality) of those members. Sure, more is typically better in membership organizations. But quality is much more important than quantity.

So what question(s) should Chambers be asking about the value of their members?

Here are a couple suggestions:

• [Participation] How many members participate in events? Committees? Volunteering?
• [Financial] What is your lowest and highest membership fee? Lifetime value of a member?
• [Promotion/Referrals] How many referrals does your Chamber get from members?
• [Brand Recognition] Do well known and respected businesses join the Chamber?
• [Loyalty] What is your retention rate?
• [Feedback] How many members routinely give you feedback? Suggestions for improvement?
• [Communication] How many members receive, open, and engage with your communications?

These questions are just a starting point for a more meaningful discussion about Chamber membership and the value of members (instead of just the number).

Hopefully next time you run into other Chamber Execs, you'll think twice about how many members they have and instead inquire about the quality of their members.

Thoughts? What questions do you think Chambers should be asking each other to assess the value of their membership?

Non-Dues Revenue is for Non-Chambers

This post is part of an ongoing series on Chamber of Commerce leadership, organization, and membership. The posts are intended for Chamber staff but anyone who works in a membership organization can apply the concepts.

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Non-Dues Revenue

A topic that floats around Chamber of Commerce circles is non-dues revenue. Most Chambers are strapped for cash and the prospect of finding an alternate revenue stream (other than membership dues) is appealing.

Chamber staff members whisper stories about that one Chamber that made $30k from a trip to China in non-dues revenue. And if a Chamber has had success with non-dues revenue sources, more power to them.

But in my experience, these stories are the exception, not the rule. Far more likely is a Chamber uses significant staff time, energy, and resources to implement and promote a program that only yields tens or hundreds of dollars over the course of a year.

Here are a few examples of the most popular non-dues revenue opportunities for Chambers:

• Travel programs (earning a commission on each trip sold) - approximately $200 per trip.
  
• Affinity programs (earning a commission on the sale of Office Depot or other products) - approx. 10% - 35%
  
• Resale programs (earning a commission on the sale of labor law posters) - approx. 10%  - 35%
  

The Issue with Non-Dues Revenue

The problem with pursing non-dues revenue is that it's time/resources/money spent pursuing a non-critical competency of the Chamber. Is a Chamber of Commerce in the business of selling trips? Office products? Labor law posters?

Absolutely Not. A Chamber is in the business of selling memberships (and anything that supports that critcial competency). For most Chambers, membership revenue makes up 60% or more of the total Chamber revenue.   

Lack of focus

A common pitfall I've witnessed in a number of Chambers is a lack of focus. Chambers engage in event planning (networking, etc.), advocacy, educational workshops, marketing, and a number of other activities.

And part of this diversity of activities is the very nature of a Chamber - Chamber's serve their members in numerous different ways. But at what point are Chambers overextending themselves and operating in a segment that's too far away from the true focus (i.e. core competency) of the organization?

Speaking at an investors conference this week, Tim Cook, the current CEO of Apple said the current Apple TV business is a "hobby," but "Apple doesn't do hobbies as a general rule. We believe in focus. And only working on a few things." [Emphasis added]

Taking Tim Cook's advice to heart would do Chamber's well. Chambers need to focus on membership dues first and foremost.

A different approach

Instead of looking for more ways for the Chamber to "make more money" from non-dues revenue, what if Chambers looked for ways to strengthen current member benefits? Or if Chambers added new valuable benefits?

The stronger the membership benefits are, the more likely it is that businesses will join Chamber, refer the Chamber, and support the Chamber financially through it's strongest value proposition (membership dues).

If the Chamber is struggling financially, it isn't time to call in the non-dues generators, it's time to refocus on why dues (i.e. people paying for benefits) aren't covering Chamber expenses.

Bottom line

Non-dues revenue is best left to non-Chambers. Chambers should be focused on dues revenue (by providing valuable member benefits).

NYC Marathon

This past weekend I ran the NYC Marathon. It was my 4th marathon and favorite marathon to date. 

The course

What's great about the course is that it feels like a well planned sightseeing tour. Starting in Staten Island offers the opportunity to take the Staten Island ferry and experience nice views of the Statue of Liberty. Shuttles whisk runners from the dock in Staten Island to the starting line.

Experiencing Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan (1st Ave and Central Park) by foot is absolutely ideal. What better way to get to know a city than to run it? 

As far as the elevation goes, the course is mostly flat with the exception of a few inclines over the bridges and at the end in Central Park. The inclines on the bridges are somewhat unnoticeable because most people are focused on the views from the bridge itself (at least I was). But careful not to try and go to fast and waste much needed energy.  

The fans/supporters

Except for the bridges, the course is completely lined with enthusiasic fans/supporters cheering the runners on.

Some of the best signs I saw people carrying:

"Hurry up! It's cold as hell out here."

"Worst parade ever!" 

The organization

The team behind the marathon did an excellent job. Everything from the communications, the expo, transportation, lodging suggestions, and the race itself were coordinated beautifully. 

There was only one part of the marathon experience that needs to be reexamined. The end of the marathon after the finish line was a logistical disaster. At the end of the marathon, all the finishers are pushed into a narrow corral that is lined with the UPS trucks carrying runner gear from the start line. There isn't an opportunity to leave this corral because it's fenced in. Thousands of runners are literally stuck in a corral, standing up, after 26.2 miles of running. Not fun. People were getting sick next to me because we were packed so tightly together with no chance at getting some space.

That being said, it was a small price to pay for the positive aspects of the race itself.

Overall

The NYC Marathon was a fantastic experience. Highly recommended.  

Warren Buffett on Business

Here is a great video of Warren Buffett answering questions from a group of MBA students. He uses Coca-Cola as an example throughout the presentation as a great business with the characteristics he looks for in an investment.

Interestingly, he says that people don't get cola fatigue. Meaning that it is natural to get tired of eating and drinking foods and liquids with the same taste. While people may get tired of drinking root beer or other flavored drinks, they do not with cola. This phenomenon is what enables people to drink five cokes a day and then do the same the next day. I'd be curious to know if that's actually true.

The video is about 128 minutes, but well worth watching in its entirety. Here it is:

In Honor of Steve Jobs

Here is Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement address. 

And here is a clip of Steve Jobs with Bill Gates (highlights):

On Running

I'm not a big fan of books about exercising. Or running. But I stumbled on one recently that was both insightful and endearing. 

It's called What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Mrakami and it loosely follows his preparation for the NYC Marathon. Since I'm currently training for the NYC Marathon, the book holds a special significance for me.

Here are a few passages I thought were particularly good.

On running and thinking:

"I'm often asked what I think about as I run. Usually the people who ask this have never run long distances themselves. I always ponder the question. What exactly do I think about when I'm running? I don't have a clue."

On why to run:

"Running has a lot of advantages. First of all, you don't need anybody else to do it, and no need for special equipment...As long as you have running shoes and a good road you can run to your heart's content."

On priorities:

"I'm struck by how, except when you're young, you really need to prioritize in life, figuring out what order you should divide up your time and energy. If you don't get that sort of system set by a certain age, you'll lack focus and your life will be out of balance."

These were just a few of the quotes that resonated with me. If you are a runner, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy.

A kinder, gentler philosophy of success

Alain de Botton is one of my favorite thinkers/authors. Here he is giving a TED talk examining our ideas of success and failure. Well worth the 15 or so minutes. Enjoy!

29 things I've learned in 29 years

I'm turning 29 this year. It's been a good ride thus far. Here are a few things from both observation and experience I've learned in my ripe old age of 29:

(1) Good sleep, food, exercise, water are vital to a productive day.

(2) Everything in moderation is a good philosophy - especially with respect to food/drinks.

(3) Exercise has more than just physical benefits. Exercise influences your emotional health, happiness, and overall sense of well being.

(4) Not worrying about what others think is the best way to live. It's also incredibly difficult in your teens and 20's to not be influenced by your peers.

(5) Surrounding yourself with people you admire/respect is much more important than whoever will go out and party/drink with you.

(6) Buying someone lunch is one of the most powerful networking tactics you can use. Do it often. 

(7) To get to know someone, take a long car ride or travel with them. You'll get to know a completely different side of them and develop a much more intense connection.

(8) Meeting someone of quality in a bar/club is unlikely. Although quality people go to bars/clubs, they aren't looking for their mate. Rather, meeting someone through a friend is a much wiser strategy.

(9) Find a means of creating passive income for yourself. Whether this is via investing, an online biz, or some other means, it's crucial to find a way to get paid even when you're not there.

(10) Read, read and read.

(11) It takes time to really get to know yourself.

(12) Don't get married until you're ready. There's no reason to do it too soon.

(13) Being in a relationship because you are lonely is almost always the wrong reason.

(14) Friendship before romance can increase the likelihood of a relationship's success.

(15) Experts write. Start writing.

(16) Public speaking isn't as scary as you may think. We are conditioned to think there is something frightening about communicating to a group of people. There isn't. 

(17) Treat others how you want to be treated. Be nice.

(18) Laugh - life is too short not to laugh.

(19) Push yourself. Try things you wouldn't normally do. Go outside your own comfort zone.

(20) Invest as early as possible. Save and invest. Save and invest.

(21) Spend less than you earn. 

(22) Avoid debt, including student loan debt (if you can).

(23) Higher education is useful, but comes at a great cost (unless someone else is paying for it for you). If your parents or family will pay for it, do it. If you are paying for it yourself, realize that you will be forced to pay back huge tuition costs for probably years to come.

(24) Do something you enjoy. Working in a place/job/environment that doesn't fit who you are will do strange things to you physically and emotionally. The sooner you recognize when something isn't the right fit and make a change, the better.

(25) Give people the benefit of the doubt. If someone burns you, learn from it. But don't become jaded because of one bad apple.

(26) Find a way to create more quietness (some call it "consciousness") in your life - whether you are spiritual or not, finding quiet time is imperative. 

(27) Family and friends are what makes life great. Tell them so.

(28) Money is a tool you can use, not the other way around.

(29) There is always more to learn. Anyone who claims to know it all doesn't know how little they actually know.