By Carol Smullen
Orange Chamber of Commerce
Carol Smullen
Your business will never bring in enough revenue if people don’t know about you. Most businesses don’t fail because their service or product is inferior. They fail because no one knows about them or they don’t differentiate themselves from the competition.
It doesn’t matter how good your offerings are or how loved they could be. If people don’t know about them, your business will never succeed.
Enter Chamber of Commerce membership, the absolute best way for the community to know that you exist. First you have a ribbon-cutting and grand opening orchestrated by the chamber. The chamber sends out press releases before and after the opening. You are listed as a business on the chamber’s website. When people move to the town or are searching for a local business they go to the chamber’s website and find you there.
Some businesses think that social media has replaced traditional advertising. But it takes a comprehensive marketing strategy that combines social media with face-to-face interaction with other business professionals to get the word out about you. Ninety-five percent of people say that face-to-face meetings are essential for building long-term business relationships.
The Orange Chamber offers morning, noon and evening opportunities to expand your contact base and promote your business. We offer “Morning Jolt” coffee and conversations at Eli’s Orange and chamber member businesses from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. The most recent one was at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, and the next one is at 8:45 a.m. on Oct. 15 at CT Pest Elimination, located at 273 Indian River Rd. with the Orange, Milford and West Haven chambers.
Our West Haven and Orange Women in Business group meets for lunch every month. The Oct. 15 meeting is at Lorenzo’s in West Haven. Our next Connections, Cocktails and Cuisine evening event will be on Oct. 17 at BarCode at 501 Boston Post Rd.
Registration for all the Orange Chamber events can be made at orangectchamber.com . Just go to the calendar, select the event and register.
Customers are looking for businesses they know, like and trust. As an active member of the Orange Chamber of Commerce, the public will come to now, like and trust you.