It’s finally here.  Join your friends and colleagues today for the chamber’s member appreciation barbeque lunch.  Almost 200 of you have signed on to help us kick off the week-long celebration of the small business community.  It’s a week filled with networking, educational opportunities and culminating with the Small Business of the Year Award luncheon, where we will honor a business that has set the standard of success.  Today’s lunch is happening rain or shine so don’t miss it.  In case of rain, we will be just next door at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina.

Our members belong to the chamber for different reasons, however all members should have the same expectation…that membership brings value and results. One business belongs because they find value in networking, another might belong because of the marketing opportunities that bring new business their way.  Our programs are member-driven.  Our sold out social media seminars happening this week are a direct result of our membership survey.  There are still a few seminars with space available as well as our Small Business of the Year Award luncheon happening this Wednesday. Click here to find out how you can be part of this week’s celebration.

Another great celebration took place last week as the chamber’s Leadership Hilton Head Island-Bluffton class of 2012 unveiled their class project.  Over 100 people attended the ceremony at the Island’s Mitchelville historic site.  The class developed informational kiosks at the site allowing visitors to learn more about the rich cultural legacy of Mitchelville.  It was truly a great moment for our community.  The plans for the Mitchelville Project, like all worthwhile endeavors, are bold, visionary and worth working for to recognize the unique history of our Island.  Click here to see this great clip from WTOC on the unveiling.

Have a great Small Business Week!

The week we’ve been waiting for has arrived.

The RBC Heritage presented by Boeing officially kicks off today at Harbour Town.  If you’ve never attended the tournament’s opening ceremonies, I encourage you to do so today at noon.  It’s not only a great tradition for the tournament, it will remind you why you love the Lowcountry and how lucky we are to call this area home.

The 82 million dollar economic impact that the tournament brings positively effects our community in a very tangible way, but as we all know, the tournament is also part of the fabric of our community.  Just because the tournament has secured sponsorship, doesn’t mean it doesn’t need your support.  If you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, please do so today.  Tickets are available at your chamber.  Show your support of the tournament and the community and get your plaid on for the 44th annual RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing.

On another note, congratulations to the chamber’s visitor and convention bureau staff who’ve earned the Pinnacle Award for an astounding 14th consecutive year.  It’s an honor voted on annually by meeting planners from across the country recognizing our staff for their outstanding service and success.  It speaks volumes about the dedication and professionalism of our staff and their ability to exceed the expectations of meeting planners who bring millions of dollars in revenue to our hotels, restaurants, golf courses and attractions.  Hat’s off to the team.

The Heritage tradition continues!  Enjoy the tournament!

When you’re on an airplane what do you do?  If you’re like most people, you take a look in the seat pocket in front of you and pull out the in-flight magazine.  Those publications put forth by the airlines to entertain and inform us at 30,000 feet in the air.

Marketers love in-flight magazines, because in many ways flyers are the ultimate “captive audience.”  Millions of flyers equals millions of readers, which is why we’re thrilled by the coverage in this month’s U.S. Airways Magazine.  It contains a multi-page feature on Hilton Head Island’s great legacy as the ultimate golf destination, and the timing couldn’t be better.  The April issue is just in time for the RBC Heritage presented by Boeing. The feature also covers where to stay, where to play and where to dine when your 18 holes are complete.

Hilton Head Island has also earned accolades in this month’s issue of Conde Nast Traveler in which readers ranked three of our area golf resorts among the best.  The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, the Inn at Harbour Town and the Hilton Head Marriott Resort & Spa all made the list of the Top 25 Southern U.S. Golf Resorts.

Why does coverage like U.S. Airways Magazine and Conde Nast Traveler matter?  In a word…credibility.  It’s someone else tooting our horn and saying we’re a great place to spend your hard-earned vacation dollars, and in the minds of travel consumers…that makes a difference.

Research shows that this type of coverage has a high credibility factor among travelers.  A YPartnership research study on what sources travelers found credible revealed that editorial media coverage ranked among  the most credible sources of travel information in the minds of consumers.

Travel begins somewhere.  Sometimes that somewhere is in the pages of a magazine.  Someone who has heard about Hilton Head Island now has a better idea of our offerings, or maybe it’s the couple looking for a second home who decides to take a second look. Maybe it’s the golfer who’s been on-the-fence about where to take his foursome deciding that Hilton Head might be just the place.  That’s good news for all of us.

Business moves at light speed these days.  If you’ve ever felt challenged when it comes to keeping up with what’s happening in government that impacts your business, you’re not alone. Often a quick scan of the local daily headlines is all your schedule allows.

For the past 55 years your chamber has been an advocate for the business community.  We’ve worked hard over the years to ensure that you have a seat at the table and a voice in the debate on issues that impact your business.  In the past month we’ve met with Governor Haley to discuss what matters to the Lowcountry and we’ve discussed what’s happening in Columbia with Representative Andy Patrick. We’ve also had chamber representation at every Town Council meeting for both Hilton Head Island and Bluffton as well as County Council meetings.  Decisions are being made at the government level and we are actively engaged and informed about government’s role in your business and in our community.

In the coming weeks you’ll be receiving informational email briefs that give you a succinct, easy-to-digest read on what we’re hearing and seeing that makes a difference to the business community.  Take the time to take a look.  We believe the information will help you stay informed.

We’ve added a few twists to this week’s Monday Morning Briefing including a new section called “Member to Member.”  Our number one source of great ideas is you, our members, and we’re glad to have this venue for sharing some of your ideas and advice on how you’re maximizing your chamber membership.  If you’d like to submit your input for this section, send us an email and we’re glad to publish it in an upcoming issue.

Your chamber is a busy place and it’s a challenge to communicate the myriad of things we do on a daily basis on behalf of the business community.  We’ve received strong feedback on last week’s issue in which we offered up a brief sampling on what’s taken place at the chamber over the last few weeks. It garnered enough feedback from our membership that it’s something we’ll be adding to the briefing on a more regular basis.

Thanks for your feedback and ideas and keep them coming!

There’s a lot going on in our community and at your chamber.  Our recent member survey showed that networking opportunities and exposure for your business are just two of the prime reasons you and 1,600 other businesses belong to the chamber.  Being a chamber member provides opportunities to grow your business.

Your chamber supports business in a wide variety of ways. I wanted to glance back at the last two weeks at the chamber to give you an idea of the depth and breadth of the work our professional staff handles each day to support our member businesses and our community.

Just a few highlights from the last two weeks at the Chamber:

• Met with Governor Nikki Haley to talk about issues of importance to the Lowcountry community.
• Launched a golf microsite addition to our website designed to drive additional revenue to our golf partners and our community.
• Hosted Coffee Talk:  Connecting Businesses in Bluffton.  This popular networking event helps our Bluffton Business partners connect with one another each month.
• Welcomed 11 new businesses as chamber members.
• Hosted the Reality Store in partnership with Hilton Head High School.  It’s an event that shows students the “real world” after graduation and what it’s like to pay a mortgage, find childcare, the price of groceries and more.  It received coverage on all three Savannah network news stations as an innovative program that’s garnering positive attention.
• Met with Bluffton business leaders as part of our Bluffton Regional Business Council.  What are they working on?  Their Hwy. 278 beautification program, understanding the successful marketing story of how the chamber is promoting this growing area to our visitors, planning for the very-popular regional business luncheons and more.
• Partnered with the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport and the Savannah Chamber in communications with Delta Airlines to help lower the cost of Delta flights out of Savannah.
• Hosted a very successful Business After Hours event in Bluffton attended by 200 chamber members.
• Launched a small business tool kit section of our website to give your business great ideas on doing business better.  Have a question about marketing, human resources or financials?  You’ll find answers here.
• Attended local governmental meetings to hear what’s happening in government that impacts your business.
• Met with editors from Southern Living to garner coverage for our destination.
• Partnered with U.S. Airways magazine on a Hilton Head multi-page feature on golf that will reach over 5 million flyers in April.
• Discussions with Heritage Classic Foundation and RBC Leadership regarding the upcoming RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing.

This is just a small sampling of the work your chamber does on behalf of this community every day.  Have ideas?  Bring them on.  We get our best ideas and input from you, our members.

Hope your week ahead is positive and productive!

Last week Hilton Head Island’s Town Council gave a strong commitment to additional tourism marketing funding.  The council awarded $240,000 to be used to market Hilton Head Island in three important niche markets: golf marketing, culinary advertising and additional funds to market our destination’s rich cultural heritage.  Every dollar goes directly into advertising for these very distinct areas of the visitor experience.

In addition to the traditional marketing we do year-round, these dollars allow us to reach potential visitors in a very targeted manner.  How do we know what they’re interested in experiencing while on Hilton Head Island?  We ask them.  Everything we do from a marketing perspective is based on consumer-driven research.  As the saying goes, we “fish where the fish are.”  With limited budgets for marketing, it is extremely important to make sure each dollar spent is directed toward attracting new, upscale visitors to our destination.

When we present to Town Council our plan for exactly where the dollars will go and what the goal of that marketing plan is, we always keep top-of-mind that the funds aren’t for the benefit of the chamber, they’re for the benefit of the entire community.  If you think your business doesn’t have much to do with cultural heritage or golf marketing, think again.  That visitor who comes to Hilton Head Island because of golf, spends dollars with our local merchants, stays in our hotels and villas, eats in our restaurants and spends money in our grocery stores.  That all has an impact on our tax base, your business and your quality of life in the Lowcountry.

Hope your week ahead is productive and successful!