Exploring Your Benefits
Stand out in the crowd
Use the Chamber as your strategic partner to discover how to get your business and message noticed in a highly focused way. We have the resources and the outlets to make it happen. Targeted publications, sponsorship opportunities of major business events, electronic news bulletins, issue forums, and accurate mailing lists are just a few of the exclusive tools we offer. Maximize your advertising and promotional dollars through a direct and efficient marketing channel. Our dynamic B2B website, with enhanced profiling features, has just been upgraded and features all the social media and interactive tools you need to stand out in the crowd. Feature your business, and your unique value proposition, 24-hours-a-day in a well recognized and branded business search forum --- the nation’s chambers of commerce.
Getting your business noticed is only part of the solution. Encouraging customers to feel favorably about your business and inspired to take action is the clincher. We can help on that front, too. A national study by the Schapiro Group in Atlanta has found that when consumers know a business is a member of a local chamber of commerce, they are 44 percent more likely to think favorably about that business and 63 percent more likely to buy goods and services from them. As traditional sales and marketing channels become more diffuse and complicated, we can help you get a smarter, faster return on your investment.
Meeting People
Members want connections with the right people
WE KNOW WHO
Relationships fuel business
Even in this world of electronic and social media, it is still all about “people”… getting in front of and building trusted relationships with the “right” people. Our specialized network includes virtually all of Rhode Island’s influential employers. Their corporate leaders are active in the development of Chamber initiatives. Meet them. Get to know them. Tap into their supply chain.
Count on the Chamber as a powerful extension of your human resources arm. Identify a potential roster of high performing employees with whom you can build relationships immediately. Know where to acquire talent when the need arises. See why it is effective to recruit through the Chamber. Find new vendors that can help you improve your product or service.
Through the Chamber, meet the right people who can make things happen in your business. Use the Chamber to meet a vast and diverse array of people who share similar interests. Strengthen and nurture a network of contacts. Start now so that it will be in place when you need to grow. After all, networks are portable!
The key to building a successful business is to develop personal relationships and to constantly network. Interact with people with whom you can develop established relationships for repeat sales. Buy from people who are vested in the community. Build a referral network. We have a structured referral-based program that goes beyond loosely organized and vertical trade groups. We have a fully staffed call center that provides live referrals. Segmented opportunities allow for the development of long-term client relationships with effortless ease. All things being equal, people will do business with and refer leads to colleagues they know, like and trust!
Tapping Into Power
Members want quick answers
WE KNOW SOLUTIONS
Growing and protecting
The Chamber provides personalized management services and educational programs to help you grow your business and sharpen your skills. The Chamber’s professional staff has the knowledge and the resources to solve most business problems.
Because we have been there ourselves, we understand the plight of small business. (For example, funding your payroll on your credit card and the anxiety that can produce!) One solution we bring is to show you how to use the Chamber as your strategic business partner. We have an extensive statewide-and-beyond membership base--- the most varied and influential of any business organization in Rhode Island. We can help you find investors and business partners --- the people to whom you can tell your story, lay out your plan and finance your dream. We are an economic engine, a launch pad for entrepreneurial growth and one of the leading business organizations in New England.
On a day to day basis, let the Chamber help you save money by sorting through the array of medical, dental and long term disability insurance programs. Use the Chamber’s expertise to ensure that the plan you choose is right for you and your family. We also sponsor a discounted prescription drug card that covers out of pocket costs on a wide array of medicines and treatments. Every dollar saved is a dollar earned!
Building Up Knowledge
Members want to be continuous learners
WE KNOW WHAT'S NEXT
Knowledge is power
The Chamber is a rich resource for growing your network of professional contacts, tapping into topical professional development programs and mastering the right tools. The Chamber produces dozens of seminars, roundtable discussions and learning sessions each year to educate business professionals on current trends in management, marketing, sales and technology. Our signature events typically draw between 500 and 800 executives which makes access to a wide selection high-level decision-makers possible.
Experience personal growth and achievement by plugging into the Chamber’s complete network of advocacy, education, and power. We have focused events, marketing support services, small business case managers and problem solvers, 24/7 visibility on our website, and interesting events that draw top-drawer participants to keep the quest for knowledge fresh and new.
Chamber Classroom
The Chamber Classroom is a business development series providing Rhode Island businesses the opportunity to learn new skills as taught by industry experts. All videos are short and instructional in nature so that viewers are able to watch numerous videos in a single sitting. All instructors are selected by the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce for their expertise and leadership in the Rhode Island business community.
Audience
Hosted on Vimeo and marketed through the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce’s social media, website, and membership channels, the videos receive both Rhode Island and national reach. It is the goal of the Chamber to provide a platform to support business knowledge exchange and each video presents viewers with a variety of interesting lessons.
The Inside Track
A showcase opportunity for Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce (GPCC) member businesses! At the GPCC we want to foster interesting conversations, “aha” moments and productive collaborations between our members. To do that, we are introducing a new, fresh, dynamic forum -- THE INSIDE TRACK. The Inside Track is a simple presentation format, where member businesses display 20 images—no words (each for 20 seconds, for a maximum of 7 minutes) that help portray how your business’ product lines and services address needs in the marketplace.
Accompanied by live commentary, this forum is a platform to tell your story, and inform attendees on the latest trends and offerings in your field. It's a concise, rapid-pace format that helps to promote your expertise within the RI business community. In addition to the presentations, the program will also include an educational component. A maximum of four Inside Track presentations will be booked for each forum, which will accompany a learning session on a relevant topic.
The Chamber Experience
Newly created forum designed to foster dynamic and thoughtful dialogue around statewide economic issues, member benefits and key Chamber initiatives.
During the interactive discussion, attendees will get updates on relevant issues and initiatives the Chamber is advocating for during the upcoming legislative session; engage with key policy and business leaders; and exchange ideas and information on starting or growing business – all in an effort to expand our members' network of collaboration and connections.
Having Some Fun, Too
Members want interesting experiences
WE KNOW WHAT'S NEW
Mix in easily
See it here, first! We hold events and professional gatherings at all the newest places -- restaurants, startup incubators, design studios and art galleries. We are on the front lines of what’s new and who’s new. Take a look at photos from some of our events. You will see that we make it easy for everyone to jump in and have fun. There’s nothing wrong with having a good time and doing good business!
Get out of your office. You’ve gotta! It is hard to generate new business “sitting at your desk” and talking to the same people repeatedly. When the economy was good, you probably never had to pick up the phone. With volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity as elements of the new normal, it’s time to step up your game. Networking is work. Hard work. Use our targeted networks to make the experience more productive. Leverage and maximize your time.
For those of you who are a bit on the shy side --- for whom being extraverted is a struggle -- you will find that you can mix in easily at Chamber events. Become a “master seller” by providing and participating in activities on neutral ground where members can get to know one another and develop areas of mutual interest and special priorities.
We have many different events --- ranging from the very large trade shows to micro-networking forums. Start small and work yourself up in a supportive, staff-guided, non-threatening environment. Chamber events are led by staff and volunteers who make it a priority to introduce newcomers and make them feel welcomed. That’s their specific role. You won’t be alone. Walk away with new contacts and new confidence.
