Introducing The Chamber Business Gateway
The Chamber Business Gateway (referred to from here on as CBG) is a flexible and powerful network system designed specifically for Chambers Of Commerce and their members that allows them to bridge the gap between online visitors interested in their member's services and their members eager to connect with those visitors. That's the reason we call the CBG a "Gateway". The system is designed to be a doorway between visitors and Chamber members and their own web sites. 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 easily build, edit and maintain their own Gateways -- information-rich "store fronts" connected to the Chamber web site -- that allow them to describe in their own way who they are, what their business is all about, and what products and services they offer. Each member Gateway gives Chamber visitors easy and convenient one-click access for contacting that member or sending their information along to their own friends and contacts. These Gateways are easily accessible throughout the Chamber web site in a variety of ways - a Google-style search form that sits on each page throughout the Chamber site, a highlighted link in their Business Directory listing, areas on each web page randomly highlighted business Gateways, and other optional methods of exposure. Within a few clicks, Internet visitors are able to find exactly the type of service or product they are looking for and immediately get in touch with that business.
In the very near future, the CBG will also offer a suite of powerful tools for business members such as ecommerce capability, online coupon building, newsletter and customer contact management, 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 practical online business tool.
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 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 that is a better fit for them (more on that later), but the system will work on any Chamber site.
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 members to sign up. Once the member has signed up, they are taken to an administration area where they can begin building their Gateway.
The build process is a few simple steps that include putting in information about their business and uploading any desired photos and their logo. If a business already has a web site or is prepared with text and photos, they can go through the entire registration and building process in about 15-20 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 a member wants 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, and their changes will be immediately posted live to the Chamber site.
3) The optional Gateway features. The CBG has optional features (or "modules") such as ecommerce, a coupon builder, newsletter creator and so on, that a member can add to their Gateway for an additional small fee per month. These powerful features can be added with a single click and can be used as much or as little as the member desires. For instance, if a member wants to feature a photo slideshow only for one month, they can add that feature in for the month and can remove it after they are done using it - all with one easy click. They will only be charged a fee for any month that the feature is enabled.
What The Gateway Is NOT
There are several potential misconceptions that Chambers and their members may have about the Gateway program. 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 any Chamber website with minimal impact, and be removed the same way. Our experienced designers customize the simple CBG elements to fit naturally into your own current site design, and we can work with any web designer or company that the Chamber uses to build and maintain their site to make sure the integrity of the site functionality and components stay just as they are.
The CBG is NOT a web site building tool. Chamber Gateways may at first glance appear to be mini-web sites, but they are really more like portals or expanded listings off of the Chamber web site. They expand a Chamber business's information into much more detail than a simple directory listing can do, and they do it with much less management for the Chamber. However, they are not meant to be stand-alone web sites as much as a bridge between Chamber visitors and Chamber members.
The CBG does NOT replace a member's existing web site. The CBG is designed to connect visitors with businesses and everything the business offers, including their own web sites if they have one. Businesses put a great amount of investment into their own web sites and promoting them, and the CBG actually increases the value of the members' sites by bringing them even more targeted and meaningful traffic. The primary link in each business gateway page for members with web sites is a link that says "Visit Our Web Site!" and it allows visitors that would like more information to click on through to that business's web site.
The CBG does NOT take away work from local web developers. The CBG is a powerful information center for a local community and a good place to get some powerful business development tools, but it is not designed to take the place of a true web site. The Gateways do not have the look and feel of the business because they are all a part of the main Chamber web site, and the business tools the CBG offers are general and may not specifically meet a business's needs. We strongly recommend that local developers get involved with Gateway members that do not have web sites to further enhance the business's ability to meet visitor's needs.
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