The Day The Music Didn't Die

It was late Thursday night and I had just finished a training on the incredible results of posting five events for a Merchant Group in a small town. In less than one month their Facebook Fan count grew a whopping 48% with almost 2000 new fans! The events had even greater success – which was our original goal – to put this small town back on the map for visitors to find!

Take a look at the response:

There was a total rise in response and then a drop in activity. In training I explained to the group that this was due to the training process of teaching the group how to post and email people who are attending the event. We were working on that process and were prepared with a scheduled mix of reminders and activity updates to keep people interested and committed to coming. Everyone was excited.

The Death of Small Towns

The three events listed were critical to grow the merchants business. Competition from the surrounding towns was keeping people away and as I uncovered in my first meeting with the association, what people were finding was quite dismissal. How would you like the number one Trip Advisor picture to be a bathroom?

So the meeting was exciting and despite some negative feedback from two of the event sponsors, I told the town merchants: You must work together. You are in this together!

Bad news was on the doorstep

Yes, the Area Chamber was not too happy with us. First, because we beat them to the punch and posted an event long before they had even settled on the graphics. “Really?” I told the Chamber President in our first phone call. “In the digital economy you must get these events up and running a minimum of three months in advance.”

There were comments on the Facebook page about why they "needed tickets for a free event." We were responding with excitement about the Eventbrite program and the maps on the tickets, and of course, bring the tickets in for a raffle drawing. I noted less than 5% of those interested were messaging any concern or questions regarding the tickets.

It all seemed to be going to well until one of the Merchants attended the Chamber meeting. She called me on her way home-upset, overwhelmed and just pissed off mad! The Chamber wanted the events taken down. They were upset about the calls, they were upset that they were not getting credit for being the sponsor (they were getting credit, just Facebook listed us as the host because it was our page) and they really were upset that this whole event was not under their control. “TAKE IT DOWN!” They demanded.

The Buck Stops Here

Since I was the marketing trainer and mastermind behind the whole event posting in the first place, I wrote a letter to whole Area Board. I had been here before, fighting with Chambers that were no longer in-demand as community marketing partners. Mostly it was because they didn’t know anything about marketing. In fact, this particular Chamber president got wind of my first training and send out the exact topic via email to the members the next day. I had done a training on getting reviews from customers and she was writing to “inform” and educate her members on how important it was to get reviews and, in fact, she was going to take her time and leave a review for every member!

I was surprised at the boards misunderstanding of what was happening, so I started out my letter mentioning the “misunderstanding” and I told them that taking these events down now would cause even more chaos and I wanted to share my perspective—as an outsider, a marketing trainer and consultant, and a person who understands the digital divide.

Dear Board Members

“First,” I began. “… starting with a Chamber perspective of a town that that has changed.” And I included a quote from a chamber president that talked about innovation.

“What’s the positive answer to consumers’ quickly changing shopping, buying, and dining demands? It appears to be, in a word, innovation. Companies that have their collective finger on the public pulse, that innovate boldly and quickly enough, that develop niche products and services, and that effectively move with the market are the ones that stay ahead of the consumer curve and fare best when the retailing times are a-changing” ( Kevin Kieft, Executive Director, Lake Wales Chamber and Economic Development Council)

“I agree fully with the notion of “innovation” at the core of this changing digital climate.” I continued. “Small towns, small business, chambers and associations have been hit hard by a world of shifting focus; the change in technology, and the wide adoption of social media as a promoter of small business and communities has been a game changer for everyone, everywhere.

Google Knows

As this Google trends chart shows, interest in The Chamber of Commerce (chart on the left), across communities far and wide has been steadily falling. While interest in digital marketing (chart on the right) has grown greater with each passing year. Sadly, there seems be a huge divide between the two.

What worked for all of us in the past, doesn't work today. Yet, many small businesses, chambers, associations, and community organizations are still using the same old tactics and wondering why they aren't seeing the same result they did five years ago.

The difference between these groups is that the Chamber is said to represent “three million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions.” In [the town's] case, the organization believes that it somehow speaks for a town full of shops, cafes, restaurant owners, insurance salesmen, schools and all the small entrepreneurs who make up this small town.

But how can they represent the economic lifeblood of the town, the merchants and business owners, if they are operating like dinosaurs? How are they living their mission of “working to advance, protect and preserve the civic, economic, business, and individual interest of the [town] Area” if they are focused on taking credit for events that few attendees will bother knowing who the sponsor was? How are they fulfilling their promises by forcing the merchants to “cancel” an event listing that will send out over 20,000 cancellation notices?

If the problem were truly the calls about the purpose of the “tickets” how many more calls will they get when 20,000 people think the whole festival is cancelled?

Community is what the Chamber use to be about.

Not just schools or civic donors, but a thriving economic community working together. They would bring everyone together to network, offer education on marketing and customer service. Their meetings would be full and their after-hours events would be to celebrate a thriving community.

My purpose in writing this is to tell you (The Area Chamber) that “mindset” matters in the 21st century. Like technology, business and organizations like the chamber, must accept change and then fully embrace (that change) for the growth and prosperity of the whole community. That is why businesses join a Chamber—to complement their business with others in town, not to compete solely for success.

The chamber was a place of unity, education, and purpose for economic growth. Not for taking credit and complaining about all their hard work. It use to be that business and the chamber shared a common vision of growing their community by hosting events that brought in new visitors and customers to help everyone grow economically. Isn’t that the sole purpose of a [the main event we listed]?

One Possible Solution

The above illustration is from the FCC. Perfect!

There is a bridge that needs to be built here [in your town.] A bridge that the Chamber could build. As an outsider looking in – one who has worked with and alongside many chambers – I know what makes things work —and it isn’t ego and taking credit. It is working together for one purpose—the town. Not one business over another, not the school over commerce, not one association over another. If the town is not the sole focus then it is no wonder there is no interest in [this town.]

When I was a visitor in your town two years ago, walking in and out of shops, I heard complaints about foot traffic from more than one shop, I walked unnoticed in businesses, and I was even turned away by one shop whose door was open but he shooed me away saying “I open in an hour. “ And I was not a local, but rather a brand-new, money-carrying customer. And despite their deflated sense of purpose I still went home with gifts purchased from [your town.]

When I had the opportunity to work with a group of merchants in town who knew they needed to learn something new in order to get more people into their businesses, I had no idea how much they would grow in two months.

I saw people coming together, meeting, talking, learning things that were hard, time-consuming, and as foreign as speaking Chinese. But you know what? They did it. They jumped into topics that were hard, frustrating and seemed to be senseless. They worked full days in their businesses and then stayed late to listen to me tell them ten more things they had to do every week. NO ONE COMPLAINED. Some were too busy to show up, but when they saw the numbers growing, the people engaging, they saw the light of hope.

If the Chamber had invested a very small sum to join in this education process they would have had a voice in the process of the 21st century. Instead they chose to be angry that they did not get the credit for something they were late getting started. And as the list grew and the questions started, instead of educating people on the process of digital technology and all its benefits, they threw the merchants under the bus and demanded that they remove themselves from the process so that the Chamber could get the full credit they deserved.

How will the chamber respond to 20,000 Facebook users asking if the whole event is cancelled?

Will they continue to blame the merchants for taking initiative to grow the attendance? Will they continue to force the small business owners to work independently of their association because instead of offering help they wish to divide the town so that they can be the rightful sponsors of an event that may lose 20,000 people?

What’s become clear is that the [town] “AREA” Chamber of Commerce, an organization that is part of a national group of organizations that started as the voice of American small businesses, is now quite the opposite: they are a hard-edged, inflexible group of professionals who are unwilling to share credit or admit fault in their outdated methods.

[When we spoke by phone] I offered to help you. I offered to work along side you and show how we put these events on the map months before so that we can grow it even larger through the technology of online event sites, emails, and newsletters all fully supported by the small business owners. You politely refused.

Ironically, I had a meeting with those merchants yesterday and told them all -they had to work alongside the chamber and become a community. I gave them examples of other communities and organizations that are showing studies and statistics on how working together is the only way to survive as a small town in the 21st Century.

Pride Before Fall

And then, just a few hours later, I am instructed to pull down our efforts because I didn’t use the word “area’ and that there was NOT an overwhelming amount of obvious credit to the [town] Area Chamber!

I have dedicated my life and work to helping small businesses bridge the digital divide so that their communities can thrive and prosper and then to have the local area chamber ask that we remove all this growth because they don’t feel they were given the right credit?

I am very deeply saddened to be a part of this dilemma of removing growth for pride. These hardworking entrepreneurs fight Amazon, Wal-Mart, TJ Maxx, and every other business in America and overseas because of digital technology and you want to take away from them the one real movement of growth because you “feel” that your hard work is not being recognized?

What about their hard work?

You should be as deeply committed to integrating social media into your association as these businesses are - because real results, boots on the ground results, come from working together to grow this town, not on credit or questions by people who just need some guidance and education.

Before I take anything down,

• I think that you should ask all of your members and all of the merchants in this town if throwing away 20,000+ people is worthwhile just so that you can repost this event (without them) and get the full credit.
• I think that you should ask every student in the school you support what they think about outdated thinking of adults who are unwilling to work together for the betterment of their futures.
• I think you should reach out to all those people who are “interested” with a message of your real intention to destroy the momentum of a festival that needs to embrace the concept of a digital event site that offers tickets with directions on them.
• I think the [town]Area Chamber of Commerce needs to take a vote of everyone they represent and ask if their motivations are fulfilling their intended mission to be the heart and soul of this town’s economic betterment.

Perhaps, if you embraced this movement, if you joined in and learned how to use this knowledge, if you were willing to share, there would be no disagreement.

The 21st Century digital economy is all about sharing expertise.

I have seen first hand local area chambers join forces with small business to learn how to embrace all these changes and the results were astounding—economically and culturally for those towns. Perhaps if you embraced that mission too, your own membership would not be falling as it is nationwide.

There are solutions here that do not involve removing interested people from a very important town event. Removing it and then reposting it is not the solution. If 20,000+ people get a cancellation notice do you think that this will just end the credit piece? Stop the phone calls?

I know what I think about it. Perhaps you need to ask your membership and the town merchants what they think.

As I told you before, I am committed to helping this town and the merchants who have worked so hard to make it grow. I again offer to work along side of you, the [the town] Area Chamber, and get these events to grow even larger in the next few months.

I do not carry a grudge or have any skin in this game, but I have a passionate purpose to help these merchants grow their town. It is not too late to work together and keep the momentum growing, the sponsorship made clearer, and to educate those interested in a new technology that has been in place for over ten years.

I propose a meeting to discuss these events, how to modify them, how to educate the ticket holders, and more importantly, how to reach out to these people and get them into [the town] because this is a special and important town. Me working with you is another way to grow your expertise, create new bonds in the community, and hopefully, to grow your membership for the economic betterment of everyone in [town.]

So, Was There Any Response?

Well, I was encouraged when I quickly got one quick email from the superintendent of schools. Sadly, in the whole letter all he copied to me was the wording on the students and said "that being a part of a small town they offered personal attention to these students." Nothing about community. Nothing about the 20,000+ Facebook responders. Just defense of his schools, not event the Chamber or the town.

Let's Ask Google Again

I think the answer lies in these google charts. But the future I believe lies in the community working together to learn the digital marketing piece. That is how the Chamber will grow. That is how small towns will survive.

What do you think? Is the Chamber right to want credit? I am interested to know what others think.

This was originally published as a letter to the Chamber and I have removed the name of the small town throughout. It was then posted on my website blog: https://designbearmarketing.com/

Maria Bereket, Digital Social Media Marketing for Small Business | Team Social Media Trainer | Digital Skills Trainer [email protected]