If you only learn one idea about Chamber Culture, make it this one. Almost every other screen builds on it.
A member is a business. A contact is a person.
A member is the organization that belongs to your chamber: the coffee shop downtown, the law firm, the manufacturer on the edge of town. Dues are billed to the member, the member appears in your directory, and the member has a status such as active or lapsed.
A contact is a human being: the owner, the office manager, the person who actually answers your emails. A contact does not pay dues on their own. Contacts are linked to the businesses they work for.
Why they are kept separate
People change jobs, and businesses stay put. Keeping the two apart means you can:
- Have more than one contact at the same business
- Change who the main contact is without losing anything about the business
- Keep a contact on file after they leave a business
The primary contact
When a member has several contacts, one is marked as the primary contact. Invoices and most automatic emails go to that person by default. You can change it any time from the member's Contacts tab.
Where to find each
- For businesses, choose Members in the sidebar.
- For people, choose Contacts in the sidebar (it sits in the same group).
- To see the people at one business, open the member and click the Contacts tab. You can attach, detach or create a contact right there.
Good to know
- Deleting a contact does not delete the member they were linked to, and deleting a member does not delete the people.
- Not sure where a detail belongs? Ask whether it describes the business or the person. A dues rate belongs to the business. A cell phone number usually belongs to the person.
Related: Adding and editing a member; A tour of the member record