Strategic Plan

Transcription

1 Strategic Plan Board approved on September 25, 2012 Presented to the membership February 28, 2013 Building a Stronger Community Together

2 MISSION STATEMENT The Quinte West Chamber of Commerce is committed to supporting our members through advocacy and promotion, the provision of services, and to encourage the economic and social development of Quinte West. VISION STATEMENT The Quinte West Chamber of Commerce will provide an active voice for the advocacy of local business and work within our community to foster a strong competitive and profitable economic environment. We envision a strong working relationship between the Chamber, local businesses, all levels of government and community partners to further develop Quinte West into a City where businesses can thrive and residents can be proud. VALUE STATEMENTS Representation To be the Voice of Business by being aware of and proactively addressing issues and opportunities (advocating) through a united voice. Integrity Make objective and responsible decisions displaying accountability to the membership while concurrently maintaining consistency of the Chamber Brand. Networking Providing a variety of opportunities for members to get connected through the power of the network. Commitment To support and honour the mission, vision and values of the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce. Approachability To promote the fact that the Chamber is here for everyone; no business too small, all matters are important and all businesses and business-related issues are welcomed by the Chamber.

3 THE MESSAGE This Strategic Plan is presented on behalf of the President, Executive Officers and Directors of the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce. Updated from contributions by members of the Chamber and Chamber personnel, this document represents the new vision and direction of the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce for the period 2013 to The Strategic Plan renews our commitment to provide an excellent standard of service and programs designed to continuously meet the needs of our members, including small, medium and large size businesses from all sectors. We value your comments and suggestions and encourage feedback from our members. We look forward to working on the implementation of the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce Strategic Plan and need your help and continued support to ensure that it succeeds. Sincerely, Mike Cowan, President Quinte West Chamber of Commerce THE PROCESS From its inception, the development of the Strategic Plan was designed to incorporate the views and opinions of members, executive officers, directors, chamber staff and community partners. It actually began in April with the completion of our Membership Survey and with the development of the layout for the new plan. The Board of Directors reviewed and approved new Vision, Mission and Value Statements and completed a Situation Analysis (SWOT) of our current operations. From there the development of Goals and Action Plans (Activities) were created along with benchmarks to track our success. This Strategic Plan will continue to evolve and change as it moves through its life span. The Plan is not a stand-alone document and is designed to work in conjunction with our business and communication plans. Each activity represents the various steps we need to take if we want to continue to maintain the economic strength and representation we have historically enjoyed as the Voice of Business in Quinte West.

4 SITUATION ANALYSIS 2013 STRENGTHS Diverse source of revenue City partnership Current management and staff Financial position Growth in membership Membership retention Value for membership Involved members Active committees Strong diverse board Visibility- being promoted Accessible Go to place for information Leadership E-news communication Relevant WEAKNESSES Board being visible Regularity of committee meetings Value proposition Drive member participation Attraction of new business groups More aware of changes within member owners External communications OPPORTUNITIES Events targeted to specific groups Recruit specific target sectors Greater public awareness; send out more articles, engage the press, advertise on radio More regional events Communication; newsletter, e-blast information, social media, apps, website Higher profile speakers Shop smart-shop local campaign Electronic invoicing Greater awareness of potential members THREATS Loss of staff Shifts in the types of business Sale of business Generational shifts in business owners

5 THE GOALS OR OBJECTIVES 1. To manage shifts within the business community. 2. To support specific target groups within the membership. 3. To generate stronger external communications. 4. To strengthen chamber operations.

6 THE TERMS Behind all the jargon, strategic planning is: Simply a process for developing a road map That gets you from one place to another The Vision expresses what Members, Executives, Directors and staff wants their organization to be in the future (3 to 5 years), were we to achieve everything we wanted, i.e. the destination. The Mission is written for the organization that is to do the work of getting to the destination. It identifies the main purpose of the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce. The Strategic Goals and Objectives identify what has to be done to complete the mission. The Situation Analysis identifies the situations present when the plan was started in the spring of These items have been put into the current plan and come from a complete analysis that looked at strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats/barriers. Operational Planning is the process of defining the actions and responsibilities to achieve each of the goals/ objectives. i.e. the what and the who. In this plan operational planning is identified in each of the objectives as the Activity. A benchmark is also included to help evaluate the progress of each objective.

7 GOAL 1: TO MANAGE SHIFTS WITHIN THE BUSINESS SITUATION ANALYSIS: -Shifts in types of businesses -Sales of businesses having an impact on Chamber -Need to connect with new generation and young business owners -Need to focus on potential members -Need to show value for membership OBJECTIVES Objective 1 Objective 2 Objective 3 Objective 4 Objective 5 Objective Activity Benchmark Status To focus on the shifts in types of businesses To respond quickly to the sales of businesses Connect with young business people under 35 years of age Greater awareness of Chamber activities by potential members Define value for membership to ensure we retain our current members Monitor different business trends in the area to raise awareness & look for prospects to join the chamber. Offer info to members on selling businesses. Meet with new business owners in a timely manner & invite to events. Hold events targeted towards young professionals that encourage participation of new, younger members. Contact new businesses before they open if possible and visit them as soon as they are open, invite to a chamber event Create a short, simple pitch about what the Chamber does for its members. Also, develop a flow chart that could be used to show value to the different types of businesses. Focused Recruitment Campaigns that result in new members eg. Ethnic owned, internet business, creative economy, new business, next generation. Retain 60% memberships of businesses that are sold. There is a young entrepreneur/professional group established as a sub group of the Chamber that meets a minimum of 4 times per year. Make contact with all new businesses within 10 days of opening. All board & staff know the pitch and can answer the question: How does membership benefit me? Using the flow chart to help define the value of membership and are retaining 90% of members.

8 GOAL 2: SUPPORT SPECIFIC TARGET GROUPS WITHIN MEMBERSHIP SITUATION ANALYSIS: -Need to increase member participation -Different types of businesses appearing in the community -Members want more events targeted to specific groups -Members want more high profile speakers OBJECTIVES Objective 1 Objective Activity Benchmark Status Ensure that all types of businesses can Get Connected and be part of the business community Hold a variety of networking events to appeal to a wider number of members? At least 50% of our membership attends at least 1 event per year. Objective 2 Hold events targeted to specific groups Have events for specific types of business people including one just for new members. Hold at least 3 events for specific groups per year. Eg. A lunch for women in business. Objective 3 Drive member participation on committees. Encourage participation on committees as a way to get involved and share expertise. Send out list of committees at the start of the year through e-news and newsletter. All committees have at least 2 non board members on them. Objective 4 Attract & retain members from a variety of business types Ensure our value added products and affinity programs are relevant, varied and really do offer good value to members. At least 50% of our membership participates in at least 1 of our programs per year. Objective 5 Have higher profile speakers at events Find out topics and who members want to hear and then recruit speakers to meet this demand. Have at least 3 guest speakers per year.

9 GOAL 3: TO GENERATE STRONGER EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS SITUATION ANALYSIS: -The public is not aware of what the Chamber does -Good internal communications -Need to create a larger social media footprint -Members are reading communications on their devices -Need to generate more awareness of the Chamber for new businesses Objectives Objective 1 Objective Activity Benchmark Status Raise the Public Profile of Board Members Have board members write articles about their specific business sectors Monthly articles by the Board are being published Objective 2 Focus more on social media as a way to communicate with members and the community Increase online presence through the use of students and volunteers writing content and using member testimonials. Increased number of followers goes up by 20% per year. Objective 3 Better Market the Shop Smart Shop Local campaign in Quinte West. Develop joint marketing opportunities & support materials in partnership with the City. Educate the public on the benefits of shopping locally One new initiative per year and increased public awareness of benefits. Objective 4 Advertise on the radio to increase public awareness of Chamber activities. Create radio campaign Business tips sponsored by the QWCC. Run some radio ads promoting the Chamber QWCC has a radio presence, and has at least one radio campaign per year. Objective 5 Use newer methods of communication with members to keep up with technology Official Launch of iphone/ Blackberry phone App. Explore new methods of communication as they become available. We are active on all major media platforms.

10 GOAL 4: STRENGTHEN CHAMBER OPERATIONS SITUATION ANALYSIS: -Good partnerships with community stakeholders -Board members need to increase their presence -Committees not active enough need more meetings -Renewals sometimes a hassle -Financial position good Objectives Objective 1 Objective Activity Benchmark Status Maintain strong partnerships with the City and community stakeholders Communicate with all partners about Chamber activities. Expand e-news distribution to include Service Clubs. Attend at least 1 service club meeting per year as guest speaker. Objective 2 Increase visibility of board Schedule board members to attend more events. Board members attend the 2 General Meetings per year plus at least 2 additional events. Objective 3 Committee chairs to call meetings at appropriate times An annual Committee schedule is developed to maximize timeliness of meetings. Committee chairs use schedule to ensure meetings are held at appropriate intervals. Objective 4 Ensure ease of renewal and payments Launch PayPal portal on website. Introduce the use of monthly payments for new members. Increase use of more electronic invoices to members, especially for payment reminders. 10% of members use the auto renewal to pay for memberships. Membership form updated with monthly payment info. Renewal payments are completed by June of each year. Objective 5 Maintain a good financial position. Continue diversifying sources of revenue. Ensure 50% of revenue comes from nonmembership dues