Building a relationship with the community in which you operate is one of the most cost-effective things you and your employees can do for your business.
With smaller budgets and fewer employees, what can local businesses give to make a difference in their community?
Collaboration is key when budgets are short, which is common for most small businesses. Find other businesses in your area with similar values to yours and work from there. You might join your local Chamber of Commerce or merchants association to network with other businesses for this purpose.
The benefits of community involvement for small business includes happier, more skilled employees; a relational business image versus a transactional business image; and the best of all, free advertising!
Employees
Encouraging employees to volunteer or participate in community outreach can raise morale and productivity. Additionally, employees gain new skills while doing so. For example, taking part in a community project can mean better communication skills or a better understanding of a different industry.
External collaboration ultimately increases internal (employee) collaboration, so try it out!
Customer Relationships
Most people will buy your product or service because of their experience versus the price. A study done by Cone Communications and Echo Research found that 90% of consumers would switch brands for a brand with a social impact, given that the price and quality were the same as competitors.
Being a part of a local outreach or volunteering does, in fact, resonate with consumers.
Supporting a cause can lead to customers supporting you.
Free Advertising
Who doesn’t love free advertising? Once you start collaborating and building respect within your network and develop a long-standing good reputation, people will begin to positively support and talk about you with others.
Especially in the service industry, reviews/recommendations are increasingly becoming a way customers learn about local businesses (so make sure these are positive).
Being involved with your community should be a part of every small business’s marketing plan. Who knew something small could produce one of the biggest returns on (time) investment?
A-State ASBTDC Intern James Riles contributed to this article.