GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce is a helpful tool for businesses in the area. Now, they're making that partnership more individualized with changes to memberships.
“We have done a survey and we've talked a lot in the community about what the expectations are from our chamber in Great Falls and what membership means to you, each individual business or person,” said Ed Brown, president the organization.
During their luncheon on Wednesday, Brown explained the reasoning behind the membership changes and what they will look like.
“Great Falls is a very passionate community with a lot of people who want to be supportive and want to take Great Falls to step. What we've heard is we need to provide more value to our members, and what it means to be a chamber member might be different from a small business to a large business, such as D.A. Davidson; totally different perspectives, and so they have different needs for their chamber membership,” Brown explained.
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Previously, every member of the chamber would pay for the same benefits, whether they applied to their specific business or not.
“Part of that partnership is members will be able to pick from an a la carte menu of what the benefit applies most to them, at whatever level they're at,” said Brown.
Now, each individual business can benefit from their chamber membership, no matter what that might look like for them.
Brown also explained, “We want you to be able to have benefits that meet your needs. If you just sign up and you never use those benefits, it doesn't do any good for the Chamber or for the community, it doesn't do any good for your business. So having benefits that meet the needs of whatever business you're running is really what will make that partnership successful.”
There will now be 6 membership packages to choose from. For instance, if you choose the “Missouri River” package, you can pick two convener benefits and one catalyst benefit of your choice.
“With this change, a lot of folks have been very positive; they said it gives them an opportunity to really adjust and pick what fits them at that point,” Brown added.
Businesses interested in learning more about the membership changes can contact the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce or visit their website.
