The Cut: Frost Bank

Click here to learn more about Frost Bank. 

 

The Cut: Urban Mattress

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The first Urban Mattress store to open in Dallas at 4500 Lovers Lane carries high-quality, eco-friendly and organic products sourced from North America and Europe. The store’s selection caters to a range of customers from college students looking for natural alternatives to a standard mattress, to more established folks seeking high-end options. Urban Mattress stores are all locally owned and fit neatly between big box stores and tiny boutiques – big enough to have great selections, small enough to know their customers. The growing franchise is built on a commitment to never-pushy, personable sales and local community investment.

Dallas owner Jordan Glaeser, a city resident and Texas native, is excited to meld smart business with community care. His store supports four local nonprofits, including CitySquare, Dallas CASA, Mercy Street, and Young Life, with two percent of sales. Glaeser chose nonprofit partners based on personal familiarity and respect for their work. Customers have the option to choose which nonprofit their purchase will support. Connect with Jordan and his store on Facebook or come by and visit!

Inner City Capital Connections is Coming to Dallas

By: Jennifer Schmiel, Senior Vice President of Member Services

Building connections is what the Dallas Regional Chamber (DRC) works hard to do on a daily basis.  On Wednesday, Sept. 24, the DRC through a partnership with the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), will host the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) as a way to connect top growing inner city businesses with access to capital and strategies to build capacity.

July and August New Members

The DRC welcomed 24 members in the month of July and 25 members in the month of August. Learn more about each company below by clicking on the company name.

July Members
Allstate Insurance- Tim Arp
America SCORES Dallas
American Brain Tumor Association
Arrow-Magnolia International, Inc. 
Bowlmor
CityDoc
Eighteen Eight Men’s Salon
Green Eagle Graphics
Guardian Mortgage
Henry S. Miller Brokerage
Mimeo.com
Murphy’s Corporate Lodging
Newt Global
Platinum Motorcars
Strategic Staffing Solutions
Stravis Consulting
Supreme Lending
Texas Brand Bank
Texas Capital Bank
The Palm Restaurant
Trinity Valley Foods
Urban Mattress
Walton Development
Yooz, Inc.

August Members
Amegy Bank of Texas
ProBuild
BankFinancial
Broussard Logistics
Carpathian Concepts
Conti Organization
Earth Day Texas
Forest City Texas Inc
HomeAdvisor
Intake Studios
J. Lash & Company
Linkex
Love’s Travel Stops
Lundy Marketing Group
North Central Surgical Center
NuSpray International Inc.
Pegasus Community Credit Union
People  First
QuestCare Medical Services
Showcall
Slalom Consulting
Sloan Bergmann
The ODEE Company
UnitedHealthcare
Vision33

Interested in learning more about membership with the DRC? Click here or complete our membership information form.

The Cut – LYFE Kitchen

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Click here to learn more about LYFE Kitchen.

Meet the Member: Virgin America

Tell us one thing about Virgin America that business travelers may not know.
Five years ago, Virgin America became the first airline to offer Gogo In-flight WiFi service on every domestic flight and it’s still the only U.S. airline to offer WiFi connectivity on every single domestic flight. This fall, Virgin America will be the first airline to offer Gogo’s faster ATG-4 WiFi service to flyers on every domestic flight. The new ATG-4 service offers more bandwidth within the cabin, resulting in a faster web experience for travelers looking for their “office in the sky.”

Speed Networking at Coffee Cup Connections

Last Wednesday, members of the Dallas business community gathered at Ocean Prime for a morning filled of breakfast, prizes, and the opportunity to expand their network among peers. Dallas Regional Chamber members attended Coffee Cup Connections, an event the DRC hosts bi-monthly. Attendees move quickly from table to table engaging in conversations with other professionals in this energetic speed networking format.

Coffee Cup Connections participants, including John Pollard (far right) from Dallas Baptist University, exchange information during a round of speed networking.

After the event, we sat down with a regular Coffee Cup Connections attendee, John Pollard, from long-time DRC member Dallas Baptist University, and talked to him about this unique networking event.

What do you gain, as a member, coming to Coffee Cup Connections?

This event allows you to sit down with other professionals, face to face, around a small table and present your elevator speech to everyone. This is a unique way to talk and get to know the other professionals, and the services that they offer, without having to get up in front of a large crowd and speak. There is a natural feeling of kinship or “synergy” around this event because everyone is there for the same reasons, and by giving everyone a chance to speak, it allows everyone to feel appreciated.

How does Coffee Cup Connections compare to other networking events?

This is one of the best attended networking events that I attend, and the format of the event works to the advantage of the number of people in attendance. At Coffee Cup Connections you’re able to meet more people and get their contact information. If you meet someone, but don’t have a chance to get their information, you can get it off of the contact list that you receive after the event. The list includes the names of everyone in attendance. Then you can follow up with someone and continue the conversation about how you can help one another.

What are some of the advantages of the speed networking format?

It really allows you to make connections with more people than a regular networking event would. You get to meet almost everyone who is in attendance at the event. With the timing of the event, and changing tables every 10 minutes, you really have much more time to hear about someone’s business, and the work they do. After the rotations, you have all the time you would want to connect with people through open networking.

To sign up for our next Coffee Cup Connections event, please visit our events page. The Dallas Regional Chamber empowers members to build relationships, emerge as leaders and drive meaningful change in the business community. Networking and building your business is the first step, so we hope to see you at the next Coffee Cup Connections on August 27, 2014 at Ocean Prime Restaurant. Our thanks to Bank of America, the presenting sponsor of the Small Business Initiative.

May’s New Members

The DRC welcomed 19 members in the month of May. Learn more about each company below by clicking on the company name.

All Aboard Benefits
Alpha Medical Institute
BullsEye Telecom
Chip Pierce Photography
Dallas Apartments For Rent Magazine
DSS Staffing
Foot Cardigan
Hartford Consulting, LLC
Harwood International
Interaction Associates Inc
LYFE Kitchen
Midway Press, LTD
Qatar Airways
Radar Creative Studio
Renaissance Associates
Square
Thomson Reuters, Tax & Accounting
U.S. Memory Care
We Teach Science

Interested in learning more about membership with the DRC? Click here or complete our membership information form.

5 Questions with Mary Murcott, President, Customer Experience Institute, Dialog Direct

by Kelle Marsalis, Managing Director, Member Services

I recently spoke with Dallas Regional Chamber Board Member Mary Murcott about her experience and why she believes service is one of the most important differentiators for companies who don’t want to be commoditized. She will lead a panel of experts in a conversation about loyalty and customer service at the Small Business Forum, Wednesday, June 18, at the DRC offices. Read more about her thoughts on the subject and the three measures that define loyalty.

Q. What is your favorite thing about doing business in the Dallas region?
A. Talent – friendly employees speaking with friendly Dallas customers
However, doing business in Dallas frequently means interacting with customers across the nation and often the globe. Customers love the casual friendliness that comes naturally to Dallas natives and those who move here for the lifestyle.

Q. How do you define Loyalty?
A. Loyalty is most often defined by three measures: 1) Repurchase Intent; 2) Increased Spend, or reduced price sensitivity (think Apple); and 3) Word of Mouth Advertising.
In our conversation on June 18th, we will explore how to increase customer loyalty by reducing customer effort in the buying and servicing process.

Q. If a company has a well-known brand, is it a good or bad thing when it comes to customer service?
A. Interesting question – It is a good thing, if your people, processes and technology can consistently deliver on your “brand promise.” If not, all bets are off!

Q. Have you ever changed providers or vendors based on the experience, versus just the product?
A. Sure. I have changed from vendors I really liked, for one reason or another – sometimes price, but more often, convenience and ease of use.

Q. Do you think service expectations are different geographically? If so, do you think customers in Texas have higher expectations?
A. No, customers in Texas are sophisticated, well-read and well-traveled. The internet is the great equalizer. Texas customers have similar expectations to the rest of the U.S.

Join Mary, along with panelists from Truluck’s, Frost Bank and Furniture Marketing Group on Wednesday, June 18, at 8 a.m. for an in-depth look at this topic. She will lead an interactive session and discussion around Next Generation Customer Service. Tickets are available and seats are limited, so register now. register now.

Questions, contact Kelle Marsalis at (214) 712-1901 or kmarsalis@dallaschamber.org.

Welcome April’s New Members

The Dallas Regional Chamber welcomed 23 new members in the month of April. Learn more about each of them below.

American Bank, N.A. 
American Heart Association, Dallas Division
Billingsley Company
Black Card Books
C.C. Young
Credit Union of Texas- Ross Ave
Custom Cable
Dave & Buster’s, Inc. 
Dr. Ann Stuart
Eco Purity Co. LLC
Encom Wireless Data Solutions USA
Kaplan College- Dallas
Legacy Preparatory Charter Academy
Maven Logistics LLC
Palm Beach Vapors
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Pop Diner
QTS- Quality Technology Services
Real Deal Advisors
RIB U.S. COST
The Dallas DWI Specialists
Viking Business Advisors
Younger Partners

We would also like to recognize the following 52 companies that renewed their membership investment during the month of April.

A.T. Kearney, Inc.
Allie Beth Allman & Associates
APAC- Texas, Inc.
Ashco Exteriors Inc.
Associated Bag Company
Best Receivables Management
Cash America
Catapult Systems
CBS 11 TXA 21
Corinth Properties
CyrusOne
D Magazine
Dallas County Dental Society
Dallas Credit Union
Dallas Plumbing Company
Dalworth Restoration
Darling International Inc.
Databank, Ltd.
Dhaliwal Laboratories, LLC
Dynamex Inc.
ECS Refining, Recycling and Asset Management
Emirates
EnSafe Inc.
Eugene J. Flynn, P.C.
Eulen America
Frontera Printing and Marketing Services
Genpact LLC
Gigantic Color
J & S Air, Inc.
KDC Real Estate Development Investments
L.A. Fuess Partners Structural Engineers
Live Healthy North Texas
Manhattan Construction Company
Mid-America Apartment Communities
National Business Research Institute, Inc.
Nestle Waters North America Incorporated
Networking Results, Inc.
Office Depot Business Solutions Division
Panattoni Development Company, LLC
Perkins+Will
Pioneer Natural Resources Company
Prime Rail Interests
Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc.
SomaComm Inc
Tang Energy Group, Ltd.
Texas A&M University Commerce
The Davis Advocates, LLC
The Joule, A Luxury Collection Hotel
Time Warner Cable
Top Gold
Uplift Education
Warrior Group, Inc.

Interested in learning more about membership? Click here or fill out our membership information form.