Introducing The Chamber Business Gateway
The Chamber Business Gateway (referred to from here on as CBG) is a flexible and powerful content management system and web site upgrade designed specifically for Chambers of Commerce. Its primary purpose is to provide Chambers with a tangible service that will increase member retention and acquisition while generating additional residual revenue for the Chamber. This is accomplished by providing a significant method for your members to provide a wealth of information about their businesses, manage the information themselves and make rapid connections to site visitors interested in their products and services. That's the reason we call the CBG a "Gateway". The system is designed to be a doorway between visitors and Chamber members. With the CBG, the Chamber site becomes a comprehensive guide to everything the Chamber members have to offer.
What does a Gateway look like?
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The CBG allows Chamber members to build, edit and maintain their own Gateways where they are able to describe who they are, what their business is all about, and what products and services they offer. Each member's Gateway gives web site visitors the ability to contact that member. These Gateways are accessible throughout the Chamber web site in a variety of ways – a Google-style search, a highlighted link in their Business Directory listing, random highlights located throughout the Chamber web site, and other optional methods of exposure. Within a few clicks, Internet visitors are able to find the type of service and/or product they are looking for and immediately contact the related business.
Currently the CBG offers upgrades for Realtors* and other special features such as job postings and photo galleries. In the very near future, the CBG will also offer additional tools for business members such as merchant shopping carts, online coupon building, newsletter and customer contact management, dining services, rich media such as photo slideshows and audio/video, and much more. This further enhances the value of the Chamber's offering to its members by making the Gateway a powerful yet practical online business tool.
What The Gateway Is NOT
There are several potential misconceptions that Chambers and their members could have about the Gateway. It is important that Chambers be aware of these misconceptions and know how to successfully explain what the CBG is and is NOT. These include the following:
The CBG does NOT require a Chamber to replace or redesign their website. The CBG has been built to be a no-hassle enhancement to any Chamber web site. The CBG can be quickly and easily inserted into most existing Chamber websites with minimal impact. Our experienced designers customize the simple CBG elements to fit naturally into your current site design, and we can even work with the web designer or company that the Chamber uses. Though Trivekta provides a web site upgrade for Chambers that are in need of this additional service, it is not required.
The CBG does NOT replace a member's existing web site. The CBG is designed to connect visitors with businesses and everything they offer which includes their own web sites, if they have one. Many businesses put a great amount of investment into their own web sites and site promotion. The CBG actually increases the value of these web sites by bringing them even more targeted and meaningful traffic. The Gateway provides a direct link to the member's web site.
However, for new businesses, businesses who are having trouble maintaining an existing web site, or have budget/time limitations that prevent them from developing a complex web presence, the Gateway can be a cost-effective solution.
The CBG does NOT take away work from local web developers. Though the CBG is an effective customer-capture tool that also includes other powerful business development tools, it is not designed to take the place of a custom web site. The Gateways maintain the look and feel of the Chamber because they are all a part of the main Chamber web site. Though they are co-branded with the businesses' logo most businesses will also desire their own dedicated web site. The CBG business tools are general and may not meet a business's specific needs. We strongly recommend that local developers get involved with Gateway members that do not have web sites to assist them with additional on-line initiatives.
How The Chamber Business Gateway Works
The CBG is designed to be extremely simple for Chambers to implement and for their members to use. The elements of the CBG are:
1) The components on the Chamber's web site: The CBG integrates quickly and easily into any existing Chamber web site. Trivekta will work with the Chamber and/or its designated developer(s) to implement our system "hooks" into the Chamber's existing web site – the search field, the Business Highlights features, the enhanced directory listings, and the sign-up links for members. The main CBG system is built and managed by Trivekta on our own servers, so the Chamber does not have to worry about any additional technology or Internet hosting, etc., other than what it already has. Optionally, if the Chamber feels its web site is not adequate to represent the community, Trivekta offers a program to build the Chamber a new web site (more on that later), but the system will work on most Chamber web sites.
2) The registration and administration area for members: Once the system is installed on the Chamber's web site, members can sign up for the CBG by clicking a link and going through the registration process. The registration is a simple one-page form and allows only current Chamber members to sign up. Once members sign up, they are taken to an administration area where they can begin building their Gateways.
The build process consists of a few simple steps that include typing information about their business, uploading any desired photos and their logos. If businesses already have a web site or are prepared with text and photos, they can go through the entire registration and building process in about 30 minutes. Once they complete the building process, their Gateway is immediately available to be browsed online by Chamber visitors.
The Gateways are also fully editable by the members at any time. If members want to add a product, update a menu, put in an additional service or update their text, they can do so at any time wherever they have access to an Internet browser. Their changes are posted immediately to the Chamber site.
3) The optional Gateway features: The CBG has optional features and tools that can be added to the Gateway as an upgrade. Some of these are available now and others are in production and will be made available in the future. These upgrades include MLS integration for realtors*, photo galleries, job postings, shopping carts, coupon builders, newsletter creators, podcasts, videos and so on. Some of these upgrades are free and others can be added for an additional fee per month.
Learn About The Benefits
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Click here to contact us and schedule a demo for your Chamber!
*Some real estate related services are only available in certain locations.
