In 2009 CCPA asked Linda Rink, from Rink Consulting, to survey members to understand better how its members see the association, what benefit they draw from it and what our areas of improvement are. Here are the results:

Snapshot of respondents ( Total = 154)
(Note: these results reflect only the respondent sample, not total CCPA membership.)

• 64% are business or professional services.
• They are small businesses. Most are well established: 71% have been in business more than 10 years. 41% are women-owned; 17% are minority-owned.
• Only half are located in Center City. Their customer base, however, is in Center City or Greater Philadelphia (62%).
• Respondents belong to a wide range of other business and professional organizations.
• Most respondents heard of CCPA through another member or networking (60%).
• “Networking” and “business development” are the most common reasons for joining, followed closely by “information about the city.”
• Over half the respondents have not attended an event in the past 6 months.
• Of the suggested event topics, marketing and sales tips were ranked highest, along with regional economic information.
• Only 18% of respondents receive health benefits through CCPA.

Who is CCPA? What makes it different from other business association? What’s our “30-second elevator speech”?

CCPA’s mission is clearly defined: “To foster communications, cooperation, education and services among the small businesses of Center City Philadelphia; and to maintain, promote and improve the commercial vitality of Center City Philadelphia.” But…

What is our brand promise? CCPA meets a need for smaller businesses that other business association don’t, because CCPA is about:

• Small businesses.
• Making accessible, approachable connections.
• Variety of members and functions.
• Center City Philadelphia.
• Culture.
• Networking.
• Value (small investment).
• Involvement.
• Intimacy.

We promise small business owners and representative a community for growth; a place to know people instead of meet people; a place where small business is made easy.

If you want to make a cool keywords cloud like ours above, check out Wordle in CCPA’s toolbox!