Your journey through the Salem Chamber can take many paths.  Most members tell us they are joining for one of three reasons: Advocacy, Marketing & Publicity, or Community Involvement. 

Whatever your favorite reason for supporting the Chamber, we’ve tailored a prescription for your interests.  These recommendations come from years of experience matching business interests with the Chamber’s member services.

Pathway: Advocacy

Representing business interests in government is a core function of the Chamber.  The Salem area is a wise business investment because of the spirit of collaboration and inclusion fostered by your Chamber of Commerce.  Your advocacy pathway will put you “in the know” and position your business as an engaged partner in economic and community development. 

Public Policy Emails are sent to interested members monthly, and additionally as needed to keep members informed of issues facing the region’s businesses. 

Public Policy Forums are held on the first Thursday of each month at 7am at the Salem Chamber.  When you go, expect to hear directly from policy-makers, elected officials and others who are directly involved in shaping how businesses interface with governmental agencies.  These fast-paced sessions are facilitated by one of the three co-chairs of the Public Policy Team. 

Neighborhood Associations are open to those residents and businesses located within specific geographic boundaries of the City of Salem.  The Chamber’s “Get Plugged-In” initiative encourages businesses to make a habit out of regular attendance at their Neighborhood Association – the neighborhood in which they live, as well as their business location. 

Executive Leadership Council consists of 60 business owners and executives who meet quarterly to engage with invited elected officials and other “movers, shakers and newsmakers.”  Members frequently remark that this luncheon, hosted by Chamber CEO Mike McLaran, is an excellent use of their time and investment.  Membership in Executive Leadership Council is complimentary for Executive Members and President’s Diamond Circle Members, or it can be purchased a la carte.  Dues support the Chamber’s Leadership Youth Program.  View a complete list of members of Executive Leadership Council by visiting elc.salemchamber.org. 

City Council Reports are available on SalemChamber.org each week.  Just click on Public Policy and view the feed of recent articles by Jason Brandt, the Chamber’s chief executive officer and public policy director. 

Brandt discusses public policy and related issues frequently as part of the Chamber’s Friday morning segment on AM 1490 KBZY at 6:45.  Recordings of past interviews are archived on SalemChamber.org. 

Citizen Candidates Academy is an annual program of training and information for citizens who are interested in running for a political office.  The Academy is held over several evenings so that those who work in the day can attend.  Started in 2008, this program is growing in popularity. 

Chamber Day at The Capitol is held in conjunction with the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce during each session of the Oregon Legislature.  Members are invited to engage with members of the House and Senate at this event. 

Many volunteer task force members are needed throughout the year for public policy issues the Chamber works on.  For example, the City/County Budget Task Force reviews and makes recommendations on the budget of local governments.  Needs come up throughout the year, so if you’re interested in serving in this or other capacities (water, sewer, transportation and more), contact Jason Brandt.

Pathway: Community Involvement

Your membership in the Chamber begins with your attendance at one of our Member Orientation Luncheons.  Held on the first Thursday of even-numbered months, you’ll be among 20-30 other new members or new staff of long-time members.  The agenda is simple: to give you the overview of chamber programs and initiatives you need to achieve your business objectives. 

When you enroll in Connect for Lunch, you will be invited each week to have lunch with three other business people. For a nominal fee — just a little more than what you'd leave for a tip — you can make up to 100 new personal connections over the course of a year: real connections that can lead to real results for your business.

Each Tuesday you'll receive an email from Connect for Lunch asking you if you would like to go to lunch the following week. If you click "yes" on the email, the next Friday you'll receive another email with the names of three other business people with whom you'll be having lunch. The email will also have the name of the restaurant and a link to a map with directions, a link to profiles describing your lunch mates, and their phone numbers (just in case you'll be arriving late).

On the day of your lunch, at noon, when you arrive at the restaurant, you'll find that your reservation has already been made for you in advance. There's nothing for you to do except show up (the cost of your meal is not included). You'll have an hour or more at each lunch to get to know your fellow lunch mates and for them to get to know you and your business. After lunch, you may now have new customers, referrals, and new ideas for your business based on wisdom gained from others at your table.

Forum Luncheons are held on the second Monday each month, October through May.  Part of the chamber’s Luncheon Series, Forum Luncheons feature presentations by well-known, respected (and sometimes controversial) speakers.  Speakers are organized by the Chamber’s Past Presidents Committee each summer.  forum.salemchamber.org

This luncheon series launches in mid-September at the Salem Conference Center for the Business of the Year Awards and wraps up with the Business Rocks Luncheon in June, a recognition event for the year’s team leaders and volunteers. 

Greeters is Salem’s premier networking event. Attendance ranges from 125 to 175 participants every Friday morning. There’s no better way to make contacts, form professional relationships and get your products and services out in front of others.

Held Fridays from 8:30 to 10am, members congregate at a different Chamber member’s location each meeting. Greeters is designed to maximize members’ networking opportunities with features like self-introductions, new member introductions, 2-minute testimonials, host interviews and printed announcements.

To expand your marketing and community outreach, consider hosting a Greeters event.  If your business location cannot accommodate 150 people, there are a variety of member sites available at no or low cost.  The Chamber does not charge a hosting fee, so the only cost to your business is the cost of catering.  The host is featured in a 15-minute interview conducted by the Greeters chair. 

Chamber Business Women is a networking, education and support group for professional women and women entrepreneurs.  CBW offers three groups so you can choose to attend the group that best fits your schedule and your needs. It’s open to all women who are members of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce (including any employee of a business-member). Reservations are not required to begin attending, and newcomers are always welcome.  cbw.salemchamber.org

Salem Area Young Professionals is focused on showcasing Salem as a choice destination for young professionals while establishing Salem's next generation of business and community leaders.  Professionals in their twenties and thirties join this popular group with a common goal: to reach a strong base of professionals from their peer group and to build their understanding of the resources that make our community an up and coming destination for YoungPros.  salemyoungpros.com

Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies can be performed by themselves or as a part of an open house or grand opening.  We bring the camera, official scissors and, of course, the ribbon.  This is a free service to members who are:

• within their first year of opening the business, or
• within a year of purchasing an existing business, or
• within the first 6 months of opening a new location or branch of an existing business

Annual special events are a great way to interact with other business and community leaders from the Mid-Willamette Valley.  The Chamber produces seven major annual events per year.  Visit events.salemchamber.org for a complete list, descriptions and dates. 

CEO Luncheons are hosted by our CEO, Jason Brandt.  Those who have been members for three years or longer are invited on a rotating basis to attend one of these intimate gatherings where the agenda is you.  Your ideas, feedback and questions are an important part of an engaging membership experience. 

Ready to Learn – Ready to Work is the name of the workforce development effort of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, Keizer Chamber of Commerce, the Salem-Keizer School District, and Enterprise for Employment & Education.  This initiative helps to prepare our students for the demands of the workplace and college.  Through work-based learning experiences ranging from job shadows and internships to workplace tours and classroom presentations, employers are helping to make lessons come alive.  Students learn first-hand about the skills, attitudes and education required by a variety of careers.  Ready to Learn – Ready to Work is one of the simplest ways you and your business can volunteer in our community.  workandlearnnow.com

If your community involvement efforts include inviting the community to come to you, then consider posting your meeting or open house on EventShare on Face2Face.SalemChamber.org.  EventShare is a community calendar for our members’ use.  eventshare.salemchamber.org

Publicity is needed for a variety of business endeavors, and we welcome your press releases in Business News, the monthly newsletter of the Salem Chamber.  Business News publishes on the first of each month, and your news can be submitted by the 15th for inclusion.  If it’s news and you’re a member, we will publish it.  Our professional staff will edit and categorize your submission to make you look great.

Pathway: Marketing

If marketing is your activity of choice through the chamber, consider the Community Involvement pathway as a prerequisite.  The recommendations of the Community Involvement pathway

Business referrals come in many forms when you’re a member of the Chamber.  Countless visitors and new residents stop into the Chamber office upon their arrival in Salem.  Feel free to use our display racks throughout the lobby to display your marketing materials.  Just give them to our Information Specialists in the front office and they will make room for your flyers. 

Perhaps our most effective referral system is the Chamber’s business directory on SalemChamber.org.  Although it’s difficult to comprehend, our online business directory gives out 2,500 marketing impressions and referrals each day.  That’s an average of 480 impressions and referrals per member per year.  Achieving these statistics without a Chamber membership is not only difficult, it’s costly. 

If you are interested in improving your position on SalemChamber.org, you have several options.  You can enhance your online directory listing with our Online Business Card which can be purchased a la carte or comes complimentary with Entrepreneur (and higher) memberships.  This gives your listing a highlighted box on the search results page, as well as a logo and description on your directory profile. 

Advertising on SalemChamber.org is now more accessible, thanks to a web site redesign in late 2010.  Sponsors can choose between the Leaderboard, a large banner across the top of each page, or the Tower, a vertical ad on the right side of each page.  SalemChamber.org is the 3rd highest ranked web site in the Salem area, according to Alexa, the web information company.  This puts your message front-and-center for more than 10,000 page-views per month.

Sending your news and information all over the Internet is now as easy as posting on NewsShare on Face2Face.  Your news instantly goes to the homepage of SalemChamber.org, as well as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. 

While you’re there, check out ChamberTV.  That’s where members put videos from YouTube on our site to share with the Salem area.  If you’re putting videos about your business on YouTube, and you’re looking for a local audience, just embed them on ChamberTV on Face2Face.  It’s as simple as copy-paste-click. 

Good online publishing practices using NewsShare has also been proven to improve the search engine position of your products and services.  For strategic counseling in this growing area of marketing, consider purchasing a social media consulting package from the Chamber.  Business development director Kyle Sexton can guide you through best practices for your business based on industry, market position and competition. 

The Chamber’s weekly Online Update emails keep you – and about 2800 other members – informed of events and happenings.  If you have a timely message for our membership, consider sponsoring our next issue.  Since we don’t sell or rent our email list, this is a great way to promote your business on a short timeline. 

Advertising is also available in our newsletter, Business News.  To reach only our members, inserts are a great value at just $225 each, and you provide the 2800 inserts.  Display rates vary according to the size of your ad, so contact our communications director, Jessica Chambers, for information. 

The Annual Directory & Resource Guide provides an excellent advertising option with long shelf-life.  This high-quality, essential guide to doing business in Salem goes directly to business owners, managers and buyers in the Salem-area.  It’s one of the most effective ways to reach prospective customers before they have a chance to connect with your competitors.  Ad space can be reserved through mid-October.  Contact the Chamber office for more details.

Summer of Innovation

Throughout the summer of 2011, be on the look-out for several innovative new marketing programs from the Salem Chamber.  The "h2o project" is an umbrella brand of the Salem Chamber created to reach out beyond our membership.  Businesses who participate in the economic development initiatives of the h2o umbrella do not have to be members of the Chamber to participate, but members have an advantage.  The name comes from the mission: Heart, hometown, opportunity.

One such program is called Try It Local.  Try It Local is an email marketing program for businesses in the "look good, feel good, or taste good" sectors.  Qualified members can participate by submitting a deal for at least 40% off of retail, then the offer is emailed to thousands of Salem area residents who can purchase the deal on the spot.  The member-business receives 70% of the revenue generated by their offering, while non-members can earn 60%. This marketing model was made popular by Groupon.  Interested businesses can log on to TryItLocal.com and click on "Submit Your Deal" in the "Businesses" section of the site.

July saw the launch of the sales effort to support our upcoming Interactive Media Map.  Chambers of commerce have sold advertising on printed maps for years, so when a new digital map system was built on Google Maps' API, we saw an opportunity to create a unique way to connect consumers and businesses.  Every member will be included on the map.  Map users can filter the map for businesses by about 14 popular categories, including shopping, restaurants, etc.  One of the most unique features of the Map is the ability to upload a video to play when someone clicks on your business on the map.  Videos like these are produced by our local video production companies.  This finished product will launch in August or September. 

Launching in mid-August will be a social bidding service called Who Can Help that will help residents get connected to our members for services they need. When a user posts a need (windows washed or water heater breaks), the appropriate businesses are notified by email or text alert (their choice) and click a link to the online bidding area.  After they bid on a project, the user is notified by email that another bid has been submitted.  They get a link to click in order to review all the bids – it’s like eBay for business and trade services, and the consumer won’t be bombarded with phone calls. There is no cost to businesses – member or non-member – or to the public.  Members will have a “virtual plaque” to identify them as members of the Chamber.  Studies show that consumers prefer chamber members 63% more than other businesses.