The GSCC is Summerside’s largest business association and the benefits of membership are almost as diverse as the businesses who join. But the bottom line is that Chamber membership can help you out in more ways than you might have realized — including your own bottom line.
1. Chamber membership gives you instant credibility
Displaying the Chamber logo at your place of business can lead to tangible business results; consumers are 80% more likely to purchase goods or services from a company that belongs to the local Chamber of Commerce, according to the Shapiro Report. This report also notes that consumers are more likely to believe that Chamber member products are superior to their competition.
2. You can help shape local policy
Your Chamber is the not-for-profit advocate for business in Summerside and provides our business community with a unified voice. We represent you with government at the municipal and provincial levels on issues that impact business in our community and we also benefit from membership in the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, which lobbies at the national level. When you join the Chamber you know that someone has your back and you can also have a say in addressing the issues that concern you.
3. We always refer our members first
When we receive inquiries from the community or outside it, we refer Chamber members first using our online membership directory. That translates to additional leads for you and hopefully, more money in your pocket.
4. You can save on services you and your employees use anyway
Through our Member to Member Savings program, you and your employees are entitled to take advantage of discounts and savings on services offered by other local Chamber members. These include business and personal products and services from printing to home furnace oil to pharmacy purchases. We also have the largest and most flexible group insurance through the Chamber of Commerce Group Insurance Plan, fuel discounts through Esso, savings on business and personal travel, preferred rates on your debit and credit processing and so much more. See our benefits section for all the details.
5. New members receive a valuable introductory profile package
When you join the Chamber you’ll receive a welcome package which includes messages on our social channels, and in our bi-weekly eNews. Plus you’ll be automatically listed on our online member directory which has a number of updatable features, so other members and community residents can easily search for and locate your business information.
6. Targeted and cost-effective promotional opportunities
Membership in the Chamber gives you access to a number of very targeted promotional vehicles including advertising in our eNewsletter and website and email blasts directly to the membership. Plus you can host or exhibit at a mixer or sponsor one of our many events. You’ll save promotional dollars by reaching out directly to a very targeted audience.
7. Networking opportunities
When you get involved in the Chamber, you’ll be given more opportunities to meet your peers in the community. The Chamber organizes a year-round schedule of lunches, breakfasts, mixers and other special events to make meeting and mixing with potential partners, clients and new friends a much more enjoyable task.
8. Information and education
Every two weeks, we’ll send you an eNewsletter to keep you up-to-date on Chamber events, member news and programs of interest to our membership. From time to time, we also create professional development events on relevant topics to help you and your employees become more effective. This website and our social channels provide a stream of updates throughout the year.
9. A collaborative relationship with other like-minded organizations in the City
Our staff and Board members represent the Chamber and meet regularly with other business organizations concerned with building a prosperous community, such as the City of Summerside, Explore Summerside, EPSI and Downtown Summerside. This allows us to identify opportunities and issues collaboratively and work together to build a more positive business environment.
10. A stronger sense of community
What you get from your Chamber membership will to some extent depend upon what you put into it. But as you attend more events, get involved on committees dealing with issues you care about and develop stronger relationships with other members of the business community, you’ll benefit from the sense of making a real and lasting difference to the betterment and prosperity of the Greater Summerside area.
Interested in more reasons? Here’s what Canada Business Network has to say about the benefits of Chamber membership.