This fall the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce surveyed our member businesses, nonprofits and associations, as well as their employees, to help us further understand their wants, needs and concerns, and to see where we stand in meeting or addressing them.
Thirty percent of members of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce believe that the value they receive from a membership is worth twice or more the value of their dues.
The Chamber once again received high marks in promoting the community, informing and educating our membership, and representing business interests to government, three of many programs that we continue to heavily focus.
“Each fall I look forward to these numbers coming in so we can start to get a grasp on how our members feel we are supporting them and what they value most in their membership,” said Chamber President and CEO Ermina Karim. “We love hearing about the things we do well, and we sincerely appreciate learning where we can improve, but most importantly we love getting an honest feel for how we are meeting our member’s needs.”
Below is a breakdown of the survey results including the main reasons members belong to the Chamber, what keeps them up at night, the importance of offering employee resources, and how they feel we do on getting business-related ballot measures passed.
The survey revealed a growing interest in attracting and retaining businesses in the area with 92 percent of respondents saying that this was of high importance. To support this effort the Chamber recently hired a director of economic initiatives and regional advocacy to do just that.
Click on the following tabs to view results for each category:
Reasons members belong
What keeps you up at night
Value compared to dues investment
When asked about the value that Chamber members receive in comparison to their annual membership dues invested, 30 percent of respondents said that they receive twice or greater value than their dues.
How relevant is the SLO Chamber to your business?
When asked how relevant the SLO Chamber is to their business, 46 percent of respondents agreed that the SLO Chamber was highly relevant.
Tools, programs and business education opportunities
When asked how important is it for the SLO Chamber to offer tools, programs and business education opportunities to support your organization and employees, 59 percent of respondents said that it was very important and 63 percent said the Chamber was doing a good job.
Enhance the broader community
When asked how important is it for the SLO Chamber to be involved in programs and activities that enhance the broader community (quality of education, infrastructure improvements, recreation, etc.), 81 percent of respondents said that it was very important and 80 percent said the Chamber was doing a good job.
Representing the <em>Interests of Businesses with Government</em>
When asked about how important it is for the Chamber to represent the Interests of Businesses with Government on issues that affect the business community, 90 percent of respondents said that it was very important and 75 percent said the Chamber was doing a good job.
Business-related ballot measures
When asked how important is it for the SLO Chamber to help get business-related ballot measures passed, 75 percent of respondents agreed that it was important and 69 percent said the Chamber was doing a good job.
Attracting new jobs to our area?
When asked how important it is for the SLO Chamber to be involved in attracting new jobs to our area, 82 percent of respondents said that it was of high importance and 50 percent said that the Chamber was performing high.
Informing and educating members about issues, opportunities and problems affecting the business community
When asked how important is it for the SLO Chamber to inform and educate members about issues, opportunities and problems affecting the business community, 91 percent of respondents said that it was very important and 81 percent said the Chamber was doing a good job.
Building business relationships (networking and referrals)
Making connections with other businesses is consistently ranked as the top reason a business belongs to the Chamber. When asked about the importance of the Chamber helping to build business relationships, 87 percent of respondents said that it was very important and 84 percent said the Chamber was doing a good job.
Promoting the community
When asked about how important it is for the SLO Chamber to promote the community, 91 percent of respondents said that it was very important and 89 percent said the Chamber was doing a good job.