Four reasons why joining the chamber could benefit your business while working from home

With almost nine out of ten employees surveyed by YouGov reporting that their business has adapted to working from home, firms are now looking at ways they can keep their employees engaged, while keeping the company connected to the local business community. 

If your business is looking for new opportunities to grow your business while adapting to a new working from home routine, joining Business West’s chamber community which stretches across Bristol, Bath, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire could be a good opportunity for you shape the business landscape you want while building your professional networks. So, how could joining the Chamber help you achieve this?

1. The Chamber’s online events keep you connected to the business world 

The benefits of networking have been evidenced in studies which have shown that it can improve economic performance as well as having psychological benefits as employees can learn that their problems are shared by others and can be resolved in the network. While networking events cannot happen in the same way as usual, online networking has many of the same positives as in person meetings and perhaps even more. One of these is that no travel is required for online networking which can save your business time and money. One study found that businesses who use web-conferencing can save up to 30% in travel expenses. 

Strong networks have also been proven to have various benefits from learning, gaining information and insight, salary growth and innovation. Research has also shown that people with a network of contacts are able to access information that helps them to develop ideas more easily, which in turn benefits the business. 

As a Chamber member you can become part of a large, active business community and join us at popular networking events. Find out more here. 

Greg Cooper, Marketing and LinkedIn Coach said:

‘The Business West Chamber networking event is one I never miss. As well as being a regular direct and indirect source of business for me I have met some very interesting people there.’ 

2. Raise your profile on our website 

One survey of employees working at home found that workers are more productive due to factors such as the elimination of the daily commute and less distractions from co-workers. This means more time to complete additional tasks like guest-blogging. 

According to HubSpot, inbound marketing techniques such as guest blogging do not just help you drive traffic to your website but can also increase revenue. Joining the chamber is a good opportunity to amplify your business offering in this way. With around 45,000 visitors to our website each month, you can get blogs seen by promoting your company via our guest blogs. Your events, offers and tenders can be promoted to the business community via the members area. 

Chamber members SWIG Finance regularly post on the Business West website. Lisa Alcock, the company’s Marketing Consultant said: 

“Since April 2020 to date, we have had 123 click throughs from the blog content. We see the BW blog as an important tool for brand awareness.

“Business West is one of our most valuable website referrers. We receive a significant number of traffic from the website and these visitors are among the highest converting. 

“Since April 2020, we have received 248 loan enquiries that were referred by Business West.”

British Chambers of Commerce has also partnered with JournoLink PR, giving you an easy and affordable way of getting your company news in front of journalists. Find out more here.

3. Use the extra time to upskill your business 

With home working boosting productivity for many businesses, it may be that your company has extra time to train your staff in important areas. We provide free one-to-one telephone consultations with expert advisors on any business related matter. 

If your business is exporting and needs advice on logistics or documentation, our export trade team can identify what paperwork you need and prepare it for you. We’re also offering training in areas of international trade from customs declarations to Incoterms. This comes at a discounted rate for members. 

Business West is also working with The Alternative Board to give businesses a 3-month membership of a peer to peer board including 1-2-1 coaching to support your business to grow. This will give you access to a monthly board meeting held online, an hour of 1-2-1 coaching and access to online tools provided by The Alternative Board. Find out more here. 

Jonathan O’Shea, Managing Director of The Alternative Board said:

“One of the key points for many business owners and leaders is the loneliness of their role and the challenges of not being able to talk openly about the issues the business may have with colleagues without causing alarm or concern.

“This is heightened if you’re working from home as you have so little interaction compared to when you have colleagues in an office environment. 

“The great value of the peer-to-peer support you get from a TAB Board is that even though it’s happening via Zoom, you are still getting the advice and support from fellow business owners and leaders who you trust and who have a genuine interest in supporting you.”

“You also get a sense of community and belonging with a group of peers which can be invaluable, particularly when things get tough.”

4. Get your voice heard in a challenging time

Whilst working from home can boost productivity, it has also been shown to have the potential to make workers to feel less connected. Joining the chamber could open new dialogue between your employees on how businesses should be supported during this time as our policy team can then amplify your voice to influence government at a local, regional, and national level. This could allow your business to shape the business landscape you want and help you solve the issues that are preventing you from growing as a business. Business West and the policy team have been successful in setting up a Trading Through Brexit and Trading through Coronavirus hubs to help businesses understand changes in rules and regulations and we have helped influence national campaigns such as a freeze in business rate rises. 

Get in touch

If you’re interested in joining the chamber, simply follow the steps on this page and we will contact you or arrange a Zoom meeting to talk to someone in the Membership team.