The Trail & District Chamber of Commerce invites you to discover how your Chamber can help you take care of business. Learn more about Membership Benefits
How to Become a Member:
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Trail & District Chamber of Commerce, please contact us at 250-368-3144 or email us at tcoc@netidea.com
Member Benefits
The Trail & District Chamber of Commerce invites you to discover how your Chamber can help you take care of business:
Trail Chamber member benefits…
- Your business listing in the membership directory
- No charge for displaying your business cards and brochures in the Visitor Centre
- You will receive the Chamber bi-weekly business newsletter
- Available ad space for purchase in the bi-weekly newsletter. Three different ad sizes available on the web portal, weekly, monthly, semi-annual or annual prices available
- Virtual Office Service – call the office for more information.
Networking
- We offer a variety of high-profile networking venues to help you develop new business contacts and connect you to potential clients. Events include:
- Business After Hours, (planned for introduction in Spring 2009) to be hosted monthly at different Greater Trail Area Chamber member locations;
- Business@Breakfast and Networking@Fridays, offering you a chance to introduce your company, product and/or service to other members, and to learn from member experts about how to promote your business on the Web through search engine marketing, Google My Maps, and social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, and the popular local GreaterTrail.com;
- Greater Trail Business Network (planned to be announced in late Spring 2009), a quarterly networking event for small and large businesses to learn about other businesses’ products and services; and
- New Member Welcome, (new in Spring 2009) a quarterly gathering where new members get acquainted with board members, staff and Greater Trail Area Chamber activities and introduce their companies to other members present.
Visibility
- Get noticed in a wider circle of business owners and decision makers. Greater Trail Area Chamber members receive:
- A free listing and link to your homepage on the Greater Trail Area Chamber’s Web site, www.trailchamber.com, averaging over 2.5 million unique hits a year and over 56,000 hits per month and over 27,000 unique returning visitor hits;
- Two listings in the Greater Trail & District Area Chamber’s Membership Directory and special features on the Trail Chamber website; as well as a free membership to the popular GreaterTrail.com social network, where you can further promote your business and connect with the growing number of online visitors looking for product and service information in the Greater Trail area;
- New member and anniversary listings in The Small Business View, our new monthly news magazine (slated for introduction in April 2009). Members may also be included by pitching stories or announcing new staff, promotions, business endeavors and accomplishments;
- Complementary event announcements in the Trail & District Area Chamber’s electronic newsletter bi-weekly sent out to our growing list of subscribers;
- Advertising opportunities in a variety of publications, including the Membership Directory and our biweekly e-mail newsletter;
- Premier placement of marketing brochures or flyers in the Trail & District Area Chamber’s high-traffic lobby; and
- A window decal to show customers you are a valued member of the Trail & District Area Chamber.
Referrals
The Greater Trail Area Chamber fields more than 1,000 calls a month, and the Web site averages 56,000 hits and over 27,000 unique hits a month. According to ACCE (the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives), consumers are 63 percent more likely to buy goods and services in the future from a company that they believe is a member of the local Chamber of Commerce.
Only Chamber members are referred by staff; and you are encouraged to join today!
The Chamber’s Membership Directory and Web site are used both by members and non-members as resources for business listings.
Professional Development
The Greater Trail Area Chamber is the ultimate business resource center offering information, tips and best practices that can give your company a competitive edge. We offer you and your employees:
- Connections to mentors and experts through our small business Web expert volunteers who assist many small business owners Access to research including current economic indicators, demographic data, statistics, relocation information and special reports.
Advocacy
With more than 249 members, representing more than 9,000 employees, we are a strong and credible voice for business. We focus on small business promotion and government so you can focus on your business. We represent area businesses by:
- Lobbying for business-friendly policies;
- Maintaining relationships with elected officials;
- Partnering with the BC Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of British Columbia and other Chambers in the region;
- Offering members an opportunity to meet candidates running for public office at an annual political networking event; and
- Providing contact information for area officials.
With your membership you will also receive a User ID and Password for the Chamber web portal. The benefits of having these are:
- Keeping your directory listing up to date with a full description of your business
- Access to the business only calendar (business related workshops, seminars, breakfast meetings and regular board meetings)
- Access to member forum (share thoughts and insight with other business members)
- Access to member only articles in the Business section of the web portal
- Email link to your business for potential customers
- Direct link to your own web site if you have one
- The ability to see how many visitors to the site have looked at your listing
- Your customers can leave reviews on your listing for others to read which helps to promote your business (All unfavorable remarks will not be published, they will be forwarded only to the members.)
