Summary of Your Opinion Matters Session
Dear Sudbury Chamber of Commerce member,
After two years of COVID- related disruption in so many aspects of life, especially business, the Chamber Board of Directors wants to hear from members how we can better serve your business needs. The February 2022 membership meeting was a daytime brainstorm session on Zoom. A very thoughtful discussion took place. The link below will take you to the Meeting Summary.
Key take-aways:
The Chamber should be a key community connector - the place you find local businesses to support and to provide services.
Put the spotlight on local businesses. Hold membership meetings at places of business around town. Find ways to get members to reengage with each other - to learn about businesses and services in town and to do business together.
Not all meetings should take place in the evening - schedule some breakfast and lunch sessions. Partner with some of the nonprofits in the community that is currently creating partnerships around pressing needs in the community.
Conduct a survey of members and other community business organizations about their interests and preferences. (We recognize that this is likely to be a long process as it often takes several tries to get sufficient responses.)
We are already implementing some of these recommendations by holding the next three membership meetings at Sudbury businesses. Watch for posts about these upcoming meetings.
Thank you for being a member of the Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.
Meeting Minutes:
Thank you to all who attended our one-hour Zoom session on Wednesday, February 16th. We offer special appreciation to Bill Spencer, Spencer Financial who did a great job as Moderator of this interactive idea-generating session and challenged us with some tough questions and observations. As we emerge from two difficult and unforgettable years, we asked what your Sudbury Chamber of Commerce can do to help you grow your business in Sudbury and build community. Some thoughtful and pragmatic ideas emerged which we have captured here and will incorporate in our planning for the coming months and years.
The Chamber should be a key community connector. The place you find your realtor, banker, handyman, electrician, clothier, etc. A strategic goal: Make inactive members feel like they are missing out.
o A concern is that many people & business owners who work in Sudbury don’t live here so they are not as committed to the town
The Chamber should spotlight businesses. Opportunities include:
o Focusing on plazas such as Mill Village, Rugged Bear Plaza, 29 Sudbury Plaza, etc. for events, new business openings, etc.
o Website and social media opportunities to highlight local businesses and their successes/growth
o Now that we can, host meetings at town businesses again. Create opportunities to learn about each other’s businesses
Many of the non-profit organizations in town are currently the “conveners” creating partnerships around pressing needs in the community – food insecurity, job loss, domestic violence, etc. How could/would the local business community engage in this and meet people where they are? Partner with other groups around town and partner for events. Kids, Seniors, Food pantry, etc. Benefits derived may be reputational, stemming from being associated with respected causes, or product-based, providing something some in the community need.
COVID hurt productive professional networking badly and continues to present challenges as some are ready to meet in person and others are still wary as they or their family members are more susceptible to illness. How do we get members to reengage with each other – to learn about businesses and services available in this town and increase business transactions.
ACTION ITEMS
· Identify new businesses and invite them personally
· Clarify in all media the benefits of Sudbury Chamber membership
· Poll the membership and other community business organizations about their interests and preferences – recognize that this is likely to be a long process as it often takes several tries to get sufficient responses
o Reconsider meeting times – Some evening, some morning
o Speaker. Education topics
· Review social media for other active business and non-profit forums and engage with them
· Schedule membership meetings at places of business around town