How SBREC Built a 1,800+ Member National Business Community With Join It

Organization Details

Organization: Small Business Research & Enterprise Centre (SBREC)
Part of: The City of London Corporation
Location: London, UK, serving businesses nationwide
Join It customer since: 2018
Package: Extra Package, annual
Total active members: 1,849

‍

Overview

The Small Business Research & Enterprise Centre is a business support service operated by the City of London Corporation. Formerly known as the City Business Library, the organization rebranded in 2020 to focus exclusively on supporting small businesses across the UK.

Since adopting Join It in 2018 and fully embedding it into daily operations from early 2019, SBREC has used the platform to professionalize membership management, improve reporting to senior stakeholders, and better understand who it serves. Today, Join It underpins a national membership base approaching 2,000 small businesses, with clearer segmentation, stronger engagement, and measurable shifts in member maturity.

The Challenge

Before Join It, SBREC relied on the City Corporation's general library membership system. That system was not designed for targeted business support and provided little usable data about members.

This created several issues:

• No reliable insight into member demographics, sectors, or locations
• No way to distinguish between different membership types
• Limited ability to report impact to directors and chief officers
• No integrated payments or subscription management
• Manual processes that made scaling difficult

As the organisation prepared to rebrand and narrow its focus to business support, it needed a membership system that could grow with the service and provide credible evidence of reach and impact.

‍

Why SBREC Chose Join It

SBREC selected Join It in 2018 because it offered exactly what the team needed, without unnecessary complexity.

Key reasons included:

• Customizable membership questions to capture business structure, sector, and location
• Clear separation of free and paid membership tiers
• Integrated Stripe payments for subscription members
• Simple reporting that could be shared internally at short notice
• An intuitive interface that staff could use without specialist training

As Wendy explains, Join It stood out by doing the essentials well and staying easy to use.

‍

Measurable Results

1,849 Active Members Managed in One System

SBREC now manages 1,849 active members through Join It. Membership has scaled steadily since 2019 without adding administrative overhead, despite major organizational changes including a rebrand, a pandemic, and a physical relocation.

20 Percentage Point Shift Toward Trading Businesses

One of the most important indicators of SBREC's success is the changing profile of its members.

• In 2019, 60 to 65 percent of members were pre-startup businesses
• Today, 55 to 60 percent of members are actively trading

This represents a 20 percentage point swing toward established small businesses, signalling deeper engagement with organizations that are already operating and benefiting from SBREC's specialist support.

National Reach Backed by Real Data

Join It enables SBREC to capture detailed information about:

• Business structure
• Industry sector
• Geographic location

This data is fed directly into Power BI, allowing the team to produce visual reports for senior leadership and identify gaps in regional and sector coverage. As a result, SBREC can demonstrate national impact and target outreach more effectively.

Paid Memberships Enabled Without Friction

SBREC offers both free and paid memberships, with paid members receiving remote access to specialist business databases.

Join It allows the team to:

• Clearly separate free and subscription members
• Collect annual payments securely via Stripe
• Offer a cost-effective alternative to in-person visits for businesses outside London

This has made subscription access viable for businesses across the UK, without introducing administrative burden.

Footfall Insights Through Digital Check-In

Using Join It's QR code check-in, members scan their digital membership cards on arrival. While discreet for members, this has provided valuable operational insight.

SBREC can now identify:

• Busiest days of the week
• Peak and quiet times of day
• Overall usage trends across the Centre

These insights inform staffing decisions and service planning, while also improving professionalism and privacy at the front desk.

Faster Reporting When It Matters Most

When senior stakeholders request data at short notice, Join It reports provide immediate answers. Membership breakdowns and trends can be shared quickly without manual data work, making reporting a straightforward task rather than a scramble.

‍

Ongoing Value

SBREC uses Join It to send quarterly member benefit emails, promoting partner offers, discounted services, and mentoring opportunities. This regular communication helps ensure membership delivers clear, ongoing value rather than being a passive registration.

For a small advisory team supporting a national audience, Join It has become a central system that enables scale, accountability, and confidence in decision-making.

‍

Wendy's Perspective

Join It has supported SBREC through rebranding, relocation, and service evolution, while remaining simple enough for day-to-day use.

It provides the data, reporting, and structure required by a public sector organization, without getting in the way of delivering business support.

‍

Conclusion

For SBREC, Join It transformed membership management from a manual, data-poor process into a strategic asset. The platform enabled the organisation to scale nationally, demonstrate measurable impact to stakeholders, and maintain operational efficiency through major organisational changes. all while keeping the system simple enough for daily use by a small team.

Whether you're managing hundreds or thousands of members, Join It provides the structure, insights, and flexibility to grow your organisation with confidence.

Ready to Transform Your Membership Management?

Start your free trial - No credit card required
Start Free Trial

See Join It in action - Book a personalised demo
Schedule a Demo

‍