If you’ve been considering a local currency program for your chamber, there are a few things you should know as not all solutions offer the same benefits. In order to select the perfect program for your chamber, ask yourself the following questions:
How Tech Savvy Is My Community?
Before you answer with, “not very” do your research. You might be surprised how many older people are ordering things off of the Internet and checking social media on a regular basis. They love convenience too. When selecting a local currency program, you’ll want to consider online purchasing as an option.
What’s Your Office Foot Traffic Look Like?
Do you have a lot of local people coming into your chamber office? If your foot traffic is low (outside of tourists), don’t expect people will want to come in and buy local currency. Low foot traffic is a good indication that people are getting their information online.
Do You Sell Event Tickets Online?
How do your online event ticket sales do? Do a lot of people prefer to order online or come to your office in person to purchase? Your answer reflects how your community prefers to make purchases.
Who Will Handle the Administration of a Local Currency Program?
Who will handle it and how many hours do they have? Is this reasonable with their current workload? If you are implementing a chamber currency program from scratch there are many administrative tasks you’ll need to handle. You’ll be recording all checks, tracking where and when they’re spent, paying out local merchants, reissuing lost checks, validating them, and a host of other tasks that could become a full-time position if your program really takes off.
What Support Do You Have for Marketing?
A local currency program is only as good as your ability to get the word out. If you choose to create a program from scratch, the marketing will also fall solely on you. If, on the other hand, you partner with a vendor whose business is currency programs, they may have marketing resources to help you.
There are a variety of choices when it comes to currency programs. You can create your own, partner with a local lending institution to draw up the checks, or offer an online solution. Asking yourself these questions before selecting a program will help you choose the one that fits your needs perfectly.
