2023 Strategic Goals for Divisional Program of Work

from Chamber Voice of Business Magazine | March 2023 Business Plan Edition

by Rogers Lowell Chamber

BRICKS

Strategic Goal Why It’s Important

(Ten Goals for 2023 Program of Work)

Strategic Communications

• Busy, Smart Professionals Expect Engaging Content Delivered Efﬁciently

• Brevity Helps Chamber Cut through Noise to Get People to Pay Attention to What Matters

• Optimized Communications Increases Transparency, Boosts Engagement and Builds Trust

• Telling the Chamber's Mission Stories is More Effective Despite Shrinking Attention Spans

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

• Trains NextGen Workforce & Builds Pipelines

• Closes Skills Gaps Between Employers & Education

• Helps Businesses Fill Open Positions Quickly to Innovate, Compete & Grow

• Creates Career Pathways & Opportunities for All

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT

• Attracting Investment Increases Density for Commercial & Residential Properties

• People Living and Working Downtown Create Vibrant Community

• Third Space Experiences Redeﬁne Downtown as a Destination

• Adequate Infrastructure Helps Downtown Grow & Prosper

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS

• Builds & Sustains Trusting Relationships that Increase Engagement

• Gets Chamber a Seat at the Table with Decision-Makers

• Accomplishes Outcomes Beneﬁtting Business & Community

• Helps Chamber Fulﬁll Mission-Work & Engage Members with Legislators

TOURISM ECONOMIC IMPACT

• Increases Revenue for Leisure & Hospitality Industry

• Generates a Return on Investment from Destination Marketing Spend

• Drives Quality of Place Initiatives for the Destination

• Champions & Sustains Destination's Quality of Life

NEXTGEN OUTREACH (Millennial and Gen Z)

MINORITY OUTREACH (Business & Community)

NEW BRAND LAUNCH

• Deﬁnes Pathway to Chamber Engagement & Leadership

• New Programming & Events Increases Activation with Chamber

• Ensures Chamber & Community Remain Relevant

• Builds Pipeline for Future Business & Community Leaders

• Spirit of Inclusivity Ensures All Voices & Opinions are Heard

• Increases Chamber Engagement with Minority-Owned Businesses

• Improves Diverse Representation

• Creates a Welcoming Community & Opportunities for All

• New Identity Better Positions the Chamber for the Future

• New Destination Rogers Identity Positions Rogers as a Destination to Visit, Live, Work, Invest & Play

• New Chamber Brand Promise (Tagline) Speaks to Long-Term Meaning of our Branded House

• Transitioning New Brand to All Touchpoints Create a New Image Starting with the Chamber's Ofﬁce

CENTER OF SMALL BUSINESS (Resources, Education & Promotion)

CHAMBER FUNDING

• Vital to Helping Small Businesses & Entrepreneurs Start, Run & Grow Business

• Creates Value for Chamber Membership

• Delivers Relevant Education and Professional Development Opportunities

• Enables Small Businesses to Increase Visibility and Awareness in the Community

• New Revenue Sources Help Sustain Funding for the Chamber's Mission 5 Work

• New Membership Dues Structure Generates Incremental Revenue Growth

• Accountability for Budget Performance Helps Leadership Achieve Financial Goals

• Accurate & Transparent Financial Analysis & Reporting Ensures Fiscal Oversight

ADVOCACY & GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

• Serves as the regional link between business and government by defining legislative priorities that help our local economy grow.

• Ensures the voice of business is heard and represented on local, state and national legislative policy issues.

• Advocates for business-driven policy that impacts businesses of all sizes (taxation, regulation, infrastructure, etc.).

• Engages the community in the political process including registering to vote, contacting legislators, hosting educational forums and organizing Calls to Action.

• Influences long-term prosperity and quality of life for our region.

Community Development

• Activates the next generation leaders with programs to prepare them for the challenges and opportunities facing our region.

• Delivers unique programming that builds a vibrant, cohesive community, that embraces togetherness and welcomes all.

• Champions Social Equity & Innovation (SEI) initiatives that are sources of competitive advantage for business and our region.

• Engages local education and healthcare leaders to address issues affecting our quality of life.

• Convenes the minority community to listen, help bridge gaps and create a place where everybody feels safe and valued.

DESTINATION MARKETING & MANAGEMENT

• Markets our vibrant area to leisure, meetings, sports and relocation markets generating tourism revenue that funds investment in building the destination’s strength and quality of place.

• Activates quality experiences for both visitors and residents.

• Champions destination stewardship by balancing responsible economic development, sustainable tourism and quality of life.

• Aligns the community by building public support around a shared destination vision and keeps the community and marketplace engagement fresh and relevant.

• Defines and promotes Rogers as an arts and entertainment destination in the region.

Economic Development

• Creates a pro-business, pro-growth economic environment to attract new business and help businesses of all sizes to prosper.

• Works with industries both large and small to create jobs and increase business expansion.

• Provides development resources and assistance with state tax incentives, site selection, economic data and marketing research insights.

• Develops talent pipelines by assessing skills gaps and filling them by connecting educators with industries to ensure skills taught align with the current and future workforce needs of our community.

• Drives increased sales tax collections that fund quality of place amenities that influence retention of employers and their employees in the region.

• Provides resources and support for implementing the Downtown Rogers Initiative Plan designed to prepare downtown for sustainable growth.

SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT

• Provides essential resources and just in time education to help start, run and grow small business.

• Opens the door to new connections for small business to succeed.

• Engages the Small Business Council that serves as the voice of small business to guide support and programming.

• Partners with organizations that are invaluable resources for small business and entrepreneurial startups.

• Advocates for small business and offers opportunitiesto influence civic, social and economic initiatives supporting growth.

• Offers a variety of affordable advertising and sponsorship opportunities to increase visibility and awareness.

Our Marketing Communications division’s work impacts the Rogers-Lowell Area, Chamber members and partners, and the business community. They deliver easily accessible and up-to-date information about local businesses and our community by sharing stories about the Chamber’s mission, accomplishments, strategic programs and major events. They also help to unify communications and messaging into “one voice” for our community.

Division Goals

Goal #1: Optimize Communications with the Smart Brevity Platform to Deliver Target Audiences Engaging Content Efficiently across all Internal and External Channels.

Goal #2: Launch New Chamber Brand Identity and Build Awareness at All Touchpoints.

Goal #3: Monetize Chamber’s Digital Advertising Assets with the Member Services Division to Generate Incremental Revenue for the Chamber.

Goal #4: Media Plan: Advertise and Promote Chamber’s New Brand Identity, Mission 5 Work and Events/Programming.

Goal #5: Grow Social Media Engagement (Likes, Comments, Shares & Clicks) with Target Audiences (Customers, Members, Investors and Community).

Goal #6: Produce Deliverables to Position Chamber as the “Voice of Business” and “Trusted Source” by informing target audiences with timely, relevant, and essential News, Information and Resources.

Goal #7: Rebrand Master Brand Website to Feature Sub-Brands Better and Promote RogersLowell.com to Increase Traffic and Convert Visitors to New Members via the Online Application Form.

Goal #8: Deliver In-House Agency Design Expertise and Creative Production Services to Support Success of Chamber’s Divisions and Save Money for the Chamber.

Goal #9: Go Downtown Rogers: Provide Marketing Communications Support to Build the Sub-Brand’s Presence and Awareness.

Goal #10: Destination Rogers: Provide Marketing Communications Support for the Sub-Brand’s New Brand Identity Launch, Group Sales Efforts, Social Media Campaigns, Website Content, Newsletter Production, and Content Creation Calendar for Key Target Audiences (Groups and Meetings, and Leisure).

Our Accounting and Finance division prepares useful, relevant, and clear financial information and statements for the Chamber in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the U.S. Working with both internal customers and external partners, they provide the right data to the right people at the right time to facilitate our organizational success. They also support the human resource needs of the organization.

Division Goals

Goal #1: Provide Quality Financial Data: Understandable, Reliable, Relevant Financial Analysis and Reporting.

Goal #2: Chamber Audit Committee, Provide Detailed Transparent Reporting While Ensuring that Financial Statements Comply with GAAP Rules for Nonprofits.

Goal #3: Manage Health And Wellness Benefits

Our Staff.

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Membership in the Chamber is a direct investment in the work we do to grow business and build community. Our Member Services division helps you understand how to connect, invest and grow with us. Whether you are a community partner, member, or both, we provide “over-the-top” customer service by offering valuable information, services and programs to deliver value and return on your investment with the Chamber.

Division Goals

Goal #1: Member Retention & Engagement.

Goal #2: Increase Annual Investment Revenue.

Goal #3: Invite NextGen via Personal Communications to Engage and Participate in Membership, Programs, and Events.

Goal #4: Widen Appeal to NextGen by Developing New Programs and Events for our Portfolio.

Our Customer Service division has a reputation of delivering excellent customer service to external and internal customers. They ensure cohesion within the Chamber and Community through effective communications, processes and procedures. In addition to supporting the Chamber’s goals, they help our visitors, members, new residents and board members get information they need to know.

Division Goals

Goal #1: Provide Customized Service for Each Chamber Division to Support our Mission 5.

Goal #2: Provide Customized Service for All Chamber Stakeholders.

(479) 636-1240 info@rogerslowell.com

Goal #3: Provide Customized Service for All Visitors and Residents in Our Community. CLICK

New job creation and business expansion impact businesses by creating meaningful opportunities to sell goods and services to new businesses and residents. Our Economic Development Division works with industries both large and small to increase job growth and business expansion. They also work with individuals to support and increase our growing small business community.

Division Goals

Goal #1: Create Workforce Development Opportunities in Our Community.

Goal #2: Be a Business-friendly Community focused on Business Growth and Commercial Development in Rogers and Lowell.

Goal #3: Invigorate Commercial Development in Lowell through business expansion and new retail opportunities through $5 million in new capital development.

Goal #4: Engage the Small Business Community.

Our Downtown Development division is the primary point-of-contact for economic development in Downtown Rogers and provides resources and help implementing the Downtown Rogers Initiative Plan. They focus on increasing the number of businesses, employees, and residential properties in the downtown core. They also cultivate strong relations with existing businesses and government entities, identifying opportunities to activate underutilized properties, connecting potential partnerships and facilitating business relations to maximize resources for downtown and the surrounding community.

Division Goals

Goal #1: Increase Multi-Family/Mixed-Use Residential Development in Downtown Rogers.

Goal #2: Attract Supplier, Professional Services and Light Manufacturing Employers and Jobs to Downtown Rogers.

Goal #3: Establish the Rogers Lowell Chamber as the Primary Point-of-Contact for Doing Business in Downtown Rogers

Goal #4: Connect All Activities to the Mission of Economic Development and the Master Plan with at Least Six (6) Public Announcements.

Goal #5: Showcase Why Downtown Rogers is an Ideal Place to Conduct Business, Raise a Family and Enjoy Quality of Life Amenities and Activities.

Goal #6: Develop and Promote Downtown Rogers as a Destination Location for Arts, Music, Dance and Other Interactive Experiences.

Goal #7: Build Community Value through Effective Activation of Underutilized Properties.

Our Government Affairs division serves as the link between members and local, state and federal government by advocating for pro-business and quality of life issues that are important to Northwest Arkansas. They also engage in activities that produce long-term positive impacts including voter registration and education, engagement of members in the political process and continuously improved outreach efforts.

Division Goals

Goal #1: Build Trusting Relationships that Allow Us to Serve as the Regional Link between Business and Government.

Goal #2: Ensure the Voice of Business is Represented on Local, State, and National Legislative Policy Issues.

Goal #3: Engage the Community in the Political Process including Registering to Vote and Hosting Educational Forums.

Programs in our Community Development Division impact and enhance the quality of life in Rogers, Lowell and the region. They are committed to expanding our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to better welcome the growing number of residents, workers, and visitors from all backgrounds. They also support educational programs and help develop our leaders for the future.

Division Goals

Goal #1: Define Pathways to Chamber and Community Engagement & Leadership for NextGen Leaders.

Goal #2: Ensure Chamber & Community Remains Relevant and Inclusive.

Goal #3: Increase and Activate NextGen Leaders with Programming through Northwest Arkansas Emerging Leaders (NWAEL).

Goal #4: Monetize Chamber’s Spanish Seminar Series Quarterly Educational Opportunities.

Goal #5: Increase Chamber Engagement with Minority Small Businesses.

Goal #6: Create a Welcoming Community & Opportunities for All.

Destination Rogers creates economic opportunity for our community by attracting meetings, conventions, tournaments, events and leisure visitors to the city of Rogers and Northwest Arkansas. Overseen by the Rogers Advertising and Promotion Commission, Destination Rogers is our Destination Marketing Organization responsible for marketing the city to visitors.