1. Mick Fleming President, ACCE
Chamber Trends 2007
Mick Fleming
President, ACCE

2. Trends 1: Membership More money from fewer members
Changed definition of membership
Difficulty tying Metro regions together
New exec (or new plan from old exec)
Tiered, Packages & Total Resource
ACCE Trends Show 2007

4. Members/Total Businesses in Service Area
Dues Volume Range
Lowest 10 Average
Average
Top 10 Average
Under $200,000
14.2%
36.1%
63.1%
$200,000 - $499,999
6.0%
27.2%
51.5%
$500,000 - $1,000,000
6.3%
20.8%
41.0%
Over $1,000,000
1.6%
8.9%
20.6%
ACCE Trends Show 2007

5. The New Model for Success
Creating relevance in the new model requires a different Chamber approach:
Traditional Model
New Model
A membership organization
A community organization
Membership dues
Investing in the community
Builds relationships with business
Business & community-building relationships
What does the community need?
What do members want?
The priorities of business
Focused on the top priorities
Success = # of members
Success = measurable impact

6. Tends 2: Public Affairs Even small chambers more engaged
More PACs than ever
State federations solidifying
Politics & policy even more local
Issues & chamber stands vary widely!
Health care, transportation, taxes, education, land use, housing, “pork”
ACCE Trends Show 2007

7. Trends 3: Programs Affinities leaking Sponsorships growing
Bigger events
Tighter peer linkages – subgroups
Big money in community development – even for smaller chambers
ACCE Trends Show 2007

8. Trends 4: Governance & Administration
CFO/COO as soon as size allows
Bigger Boards But not really
Directors less engaged until . . .
Buildings are back – so are reserve funds
Generations X, Y, Z Staff and board
ACCE Trends Show 2007

9. Trends 5: Economic Development
Development as dirty word?
Whatever setup is in place . . .
“Edge” downtowns – suburban urbanism
Life after Richard Florida
Defense & Security vs. biomed & health
The China Syndrome
Productivity as driver and killer
ACCE Trends Show 2007

10. Trends Six: Next Generation Chambers
Leaner & fatter (leaner ops, but meatier missions, wider geography & inclusion)
Funding stream diversification intensified
In terms of governance – more like trade associations
Divisions of labor for org within regions
Avoiding “Howard Johnson Syndrome”
ACCE Trends Show 2007

11. Strengths
Strengths are areas of equity for the Chamber, and should be leveraged in the key messages. They tend to be community-focused versus member or program focused. Note that both “leading communities” messages ranked in the top six overall.
ACCE Trends Show 2007

12. Opportunities
Some member-oriented messages begin to appear. Opportunities also provide a source for key messages in that they were rated highly for importance and agreement.
ACCE Trends Show 2007

13. Weaknesses
Many of the ROI and business success messages were rated as overall weaknesses, indicating potential credibility gaps that should be avoided in the short term. These perceived weaknesses should become areas of focus/improvement for the Chamber.
ACCE Trends Show 2007

14. Threats
The Chamber’s programs and services were not viewed as differentiated or “world-class”, and membership is not seen as something that influences the consumers’ buying decision. These messages were the most ROI-focused, and provide direction for long-term improvement.
ACCE Trends Show 2007