Total Resource Campaign (TRC

Total Resource Campaign

Working Together – We Can Make Longview Better!

Moving Longview Forward! by Dr. Dale Lunsford

The launch of the TRC and Intercity Visit program a decade ago came just as many in Longview were seeking a more strategic vision

for the city’s future. The TRC empowered Longview businesses to see the Chamber not as a membership organization but a partnership. With intentionality and enthusiasm, we reached across the community with a comprehensive campaign that demonstrated the many facets of an effective Chamber of Commerce. Organizations could see in the TRC specifically how they could partner with the Chamber to advance their businesses and grow the city’s economy. For the first time, many organizations began to see the Chamber as a partner toward success. The Intercity Visit program has equipped stakeholders from across Longview to envision our own future by looking in depth at the experience of other cities. From our first visit to Chattanooga to this year’s visit to Tulsa, the Chamber’s Intercity Visits have helped to define the agenda for Longview’s strategic vision of the future. Whether it’s downtown redevelopment, caring for the homeless, or the arts as quality of life, ideas from our intercity visits are already at work making Longview a stronger community.

We too often forget that Longview is blessed with one of the nation’s top Chambers.

The successes of the TRC and Intercity Visit helped to propel Longview being named the “Chamber of the Year” in 2019 by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.

I’m encouraged that the TRC and Intercity Visit remain as effective today as their launch ten years ago.

TRC Member Business Opportunities

Successful business plans start with strategic thinking and planning. Kelly Hall and your Longview Chamber team rely on that same thinking and planning to prepare not only the Chamber’s programs and initiatives each year but also the growth opportunities for local businesses.

Ten years ago, the Chamber’s leadership initiated the use of a Total Resource Campaign (TRC) to assist in their strategic planning. The Chamber has grown to and maintained over a 700% increase of revenue development since the program’s inception in 2011. That tremendous growth has directly affected the benefits Chamber businesses can utilize in their business growth toolkit.

The TRC at Longview allows chamber members to use the chamber to grow their own businesses through sponsorships of the Chamber’s programming. Sponsorship in a TRC is not about simply donating money to the chamber. Sponsorship is a reciprocal arrangement in which members are able to grow their own businesses while also supporting the chamber’s initiatives. The sponsorship relationship allows businesses to find and advertise to diversified target markets, many of which are available only through the chamber.

Not only does a TRC allow local businesses to expand their reach, it also allows business representatives to expand their business connections and build upon their existing business development plans.

As a TRC volunteer, Dorrie DeLand, TB&T’s Vice President of Business Development, has experienced first-hand how the TRC has allowed her to assist “the Chamber in growing the businesses of Longview. Central to the Chamber’s work, the campaign allows me to tout the economic development, legislative, education advocacy, and workforce development resources of our Longview Chamber of Commerce to new members.”

Nick Bowen, Financial Advisor and Investment

Coach, realizes that “As a local investment advisor and financial coach with roots in the community, I LOVE volunteering with the Longview Chamber’s Total Resource Campaign (TRC). For me, it is investing my time with a focus on business and community growth. Since the TRC is member-driven, the vision of the Chamber is guided by what members care most about. Engaging with the TRC has allowed me to see this first-hand and continues to provide a framework to build valuable connections and relationships. This helps me grow my business and give back at the same time. The Longview Chamber shares my passion for growing Longview.”

Total Resource Campaign

Working Together – We Can Make Longview Better!

WHY A TOTAL RESOURCE CAMPAIGN?

Amplify! Your Business with TRC

HERE’S WHAT OUR TRC VOLUNTEERS HAVE TO SAY:

As an investor in the Chamber, we value your participation and leadership! That is why we have bundled all of our program and event offerings in a manner that allows companies to choose where to place marketing / advertising dollars. Customized sponsorship placement permits companies to fulfill their companies’ goals and objectives by aligning with the Chamber.

In 2011 the board of directors adopted The Total Resource Campaign (TRC) as a vehicle for the Chamber to become more efficient. TRC provides members the opportunity to have access to a variety of opportunities such as engagement, professional/business development, networking, and advocacy. TRC gives businesses a competitive advantage by selecting the programs that are most profitable and meaningful to them. Perhaps the most important feature of a TRC campaign is the opportunity for staff and volunteers to have one on one discovery conversations on what is important to a potential sponsor. This conversation allows us to customize packages based on the company’s goals!

BRAND VISIBILITY

Sponsorships create an image of success by co-branding with industry peers in front of targeted audiences. It is a smart way to win more customers! Customers are more comfortable doing business with brands that advance initiatives they believe in. Companies can build a positive image by linking themselves through collective credibility. A national study by the Schapiro Group, an Atlanta-based market research firm, stated “Consumers are 80% more likely to buy from chamber members”. Co-branding your company with the work of the Chamber works in the company’s favor to increase consumer awareness and increase their local reputation.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

GREG COLQUITT | Senior Vice President

Greg has volunteered every year for the TRC since 2011.

“The Longview Chamber’s TRC campaign has helped to create network of involved Chamber members committed to expanding and enhancing essential resources for our business community. Through healthy competition, the campaign’s success is driven by motivated volunteers, seeking to engage fellow members through the R.E.A.C.H initiative. The campaign allows for member-to-member marketing of Chamber events, programs, and resources throughout the Longview business community.

Our local businesses, particularly small businesses, will find increased opportunities to gain exposure and higher-profile visibility in the community through Chamber programming. TRC is incredible way to reinvigorate our industries and increase the involvement of members in all of our Chamber activities through the vital awareness the campaign brings.

The Longview Chamber’s TRC campaign has helped to create network of involved Chamber members committed to expanding and enhancing essential resources for our business community. Through healthy competition, the campaign’s success is driven by motivated volunteers, seeking to engage fellow members through the R.E.A.C.H initiative. The campaign allows for member-to-member marketing of Chamber events, programs, and resources throughout the Longview business community.

Our local businesses, particularly small businesses, will find increased opportunities to gain exposure and higher-profile visibility in the community through Chamber programming. TRC is incredible way to reinvigorate our industries and increase the involvement of members in all of our Chamber activities through the vital awareness the campaign brings.”

Programs and Events are about developing and strengthening relationships. Company’s who invest can establish internal goals which could include:

• Secure a list of potential new leads.

• Identify businesses you can collaborate with.

• Create a long-term approach to leverage the investment made.

• Establish a metric system to measure company’s participation efforts (number of new leads, employee engagement, professional development, meeting company corporate goals, and/or brand awareness through media impressions).

Growing and successful companies recognize a strong marketing strategy utilizes sponsorships to build relationships, gain market exposure, gain social media clout, build your network, and have a tool to treat your clients with. KRISTA MORRIS | Property Manager

“I have volunteered in the Total Resource Campaign for 5 years. In those 5 years, my property has seen several new potential and current residents. Being involved in this campaign is not just ordinary volunteering or marketing, it builds business to business relationships and allows for a large network of referral sources for your organization. I look forward to this each year and the great networking opportunities it brings.

Wellington Grande is proud to be a part of the Longview Chamber of Commerce and believes it to be a great asset for growth in the city of Longview. They are eager to assist our schools in providing top education, so our kids have a better future. They offer a variety of great things to their members such as: networking, sponsorship opportunities, growth & development training, and advertising. We are excited to be involved in such a vibrant organization that truly cares about our community.”