Go visit your customers

Deb Brown making connections in Webster City

Guest post by Deb Brown

How well do you know your clients?

Here at the Chamber our clients are our members. This year I’ve made a concentrated effort to spend some time visiting with our members. Not just when I run into them, or when we need something (although we do visit then), but in a scheduled appointment where we can take an hour and visit.

We’re pretty good at promoting your business, hosting community events, helping to grow the local economy, marketing outside of the county and advocating for business. It’s what a Chamber does, and we take that job seriously.

What we realized is that just by visiting with our members we’ve been able to find out some things we didn’t know before. Because we are asking questions and listening to the answers. We want to be able to better serve you, and in order to do that we need to know a few more things about you.

I go out and visit at least 10 members a month and ask questions like:

What gets you excited to go to work every day?
Where do you see your company in five years?
What do you like most about this town?
What would be the perfect referral to your business?

It’s really made us think harder how about to serve each member, and provide more individualized attention. We’re getting to know more about our businesses and how the Chamber can help them grow and become more profitable. We’re able to fit the types of services we provide with the right part of their business. Not everyone needs everything we offer, but everyone does need at least a little something. Our Chamber Checkups are helping us find the matches.

Deb Brown is the executive director of the Webster City Area Chamber of Commerce and works on projects with Becky McCray at SaveYour.Town

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About Deb Brown

Deb Brown comes from a farm outside of Geneva, Iowa, population 141. Her heart lies in sharing the possibilities for small towns. Deb travels a lot, taking back roads when possible, and talking to the locals, sharing stories of other small towns and encouraging anyone who will listen. She's the co-founder of www.saveyour.town and owner of Building Possibility.