In her 25 years of chamber experience, Sylvia Spury, Executive Vice-President & COO of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce, has used GrowthZone, another platform, and GrowthZone Chamber Edition. Here’s why she recommends GrowthZone.
Tell us about the surprise you discovered when you first started this job.
I was with another chamber for 20 years, the Mobile Chamber, and then came on board with the Lake Norman Chamber. I saw that they also had Chambermaster, so I thought “Easy, I’m going to hop in there!” The day I started here they announced that we were going to a new website, and a new database. I said, “You were going to leave Chambermaster?” and they said “Yes.”
What was this other platform like?
We worked with the new database but when we had Chambermaster, our members were used to a lot of features that the new website didn’t have. You couldn’t put your logo on or have any certain highlights. One of the things we do is that members who pay more than the base rate get something more for what they pay. Our software did not include that, we had a basic word type template and couldn’t add a lot of features like photos or colors. We were in a contract for 3 years so we stayed with it and did our best to work with it. Finally after two and a half years, I said, “this is just crazy.”
Compare that other platform to GrowthZone.
The database we had before wasn’t made for what we needed. I told the board when I asked to go back to Chambermaster that it was like dealing with dial up when you’re used to high speed internet.
How do people like being back with GrowthZone?
What they’re seeing, they love. The bright colors, the movement, the fact that people can go in and do their own thing. Folks are loving that you can put a sale paper up on the website because with the previous database, they couldn’t do anything. Everything was black and white, the same font and the same letters and you could only have so much information.
Do you think GrowthZone will save you time?
Hopefully in time, GrowthZone will give us a lot more time to do other things. We have a lot of events going on, we work on member packages, we work on giving more back and we want to make sure that every investor is getting a return on their investment. That means that even with the pandemic, we have to keep them connected. We have to have different programs even if it is a Zoom webinar or something going out. We use social media a lot. I, myself, have a lot on my plate so once we get this database working correctly, and it will get there, I know that I’ll be able to focus on more things and grow the chamber.
How has GrowthZone exceeded your expectations?
We expected GrowthZone to be harder to use, but it’s been very easy. I’m thrilled. I look forward to coming into work everyday to learn something new to get this chamber website looking even better than it already is right now.
What do you like best about GrowthZone?
The look, the efficiency, the fact that members can do their own work and add what they want, and the option to have events that folks can register and pay for right on our website. After that, it’s all done. There aren’t four steps, there is one. GrowthZone is definitely it. If you are a Chamber of Commerce or somebody in this type of work—whether economic development or whatever—it would be the number one answer.