Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce
Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce is one of 52 Chambers across the country that provide bespoke business support services to companies of all sectors and sizes.
By offering international trade support, expertise in governance, events, networking, and training opportunities, Staffordshire Chambers helps to strengthen and futureproof businesses across Staffordshire.
The Challenge
Winning Chamber of the Year in 2021 was a highlight for Staffordshire Chambers. However, as an innovative chamber with its finger on the pulse of technology, they realised their current setup may cause them to lose touch with their members.
Multiple data sets, spreadsheets, and an archaic CRM were causing issues for the team, particularly for the three Account Managers responsible for providing support and advice to their 1,000+ members.
All staff needed autonomy and ownership over their areas of data, but with the status quo, they were spending too much time digging out the latest interactions rather than offering the bespoke support that they prided themselves on. Did they attend that event? Did they pay that invoice? Did they open that email? How can we help them?
“We are a fantastic Chamber that offers brilliant support services to our members, but needed a better CRM system based on strong relevant data and better market research. That will drive a stronger customer journey and experience. We don’t want to be second-guessing what our members feel about us. It shouldn’t be ‘we’re doing it because we always have,’” said Chris Plant, Deputy CEO.
They took immediate action to start searching for a CRM supplier and launched an annual membership survey to their entire membership. The data from this annual survey will form the foundation of their evolving membership, helping them to assess their goals of:
- Increasing from 1,000 members to 1,300 members in 12 months.
- Increasing their retention rate from 85% (British Chambers average) to 92% in the next two years.
Staffordshire Chambers needed to grow alongside their members, futureproofing their systems and preparing for the next generation of business owners who would expect personalised support at the touch of a button.
The Approach
The ReadyMembership team won the pitch hands down after demonstrating the difference that automation and personalisation could make to the interactions with their members. The in-built events and awards modules would also realise a long-held dream of moving away from using external events providers.
A key feature unique to ReadyMembership is its direct API link with the National e-Cert platform, which handles all customs certifications for the 52 Chambers of Commerce. This integration enables staff to raise invoices, view customs certificate statuses, and send automated reminders, all from within ReadyMembership.
The seamless integration with a national IT system was executed so smoothly for another Chamber of Commerce that the team were really excited to see how the system could transform their working days.
“I was really impressed with the consultative approach and blown away by the level of care showed. From the Customer Success Managers to the Technical Architects, every single person working on our project has done their research and understands the complexities of a Chamber of Commerce model. If we’d gone with another provider, we might have spent six months getting them up to speed”.
Staffordshire Chambers and the ReadyMembership team have evaluated the results of the member survey, reviewed their existing datasets, and created a number of CRM personas.
These personas, split by sector, profession, and demand, are now guiding them through the workshops, which include members of the Staffordshire Chambers project team and wider members of the organisation who have crucial insights about the current processes versus the new ways of working.
- Workshop 1: Membership journey with CRM personas
- Workshop 2: Data mapping
- Workshop 3: International trade and linking to other external providers
This data and the personas will give the team a strong foundation to benchmark and monitor the success of ReadyMembership after go-live.
The Future Looks Bright
There’s a lot of work to do before go-live, but there is genuine excitement bubbling among the staff at Staffordshire Chambers. They are eager to be involved in the process and are already receiving training.
Staffordshire Chambers has a clear goal: to amplify the voices of their members, make them feel valued, and pre-empt situations where they might previously have fallen through the gaps.
By moving away from multiple systems and consolidating all data into ReadyMembership, the experience will become smoother and more engaging. With each interaction, the system will build a more personalised picture of each member. Automated yet relevant communications will be sent to each person, freeing up the team to provide the more complex one-on-one support needed.
Chris Plant can see clear benefits for the chamber and their local business members. “It’s not about AI or automating every single process, but we know we can do better by our members. Rather than spamming them with every single communication, if they only receive what’s relevant to them, they’ll feel like we know them and care about them. The knock-on effect will be that those members feel valued, so when it comes to renewals time, they want to stay.”
