In addition to marketing, one of the most valuable things your chamber bucks program needs is referrals. If people are talking about your program, more people will want to be a part of it. But how do you make that happen? Get Them Out There Marketing occurs on many levels Read more…
Retailers work hard at attracting the Millennial customer because there are so many of them and they are approaching the age of having some discretionary income. The media has painted this niche-brand-loving generation as being “shoppers with a conscience,” who want to purchase from stores that are giving back and Read more…
Many budget conscious shoppers avoid local stores because they think products cost more at these small shops. These stores don’t often use loss leaders to attract people, nor do they offer coupons that when stacked create free product opportunities. Yes, some products will cost more in local stores than in Read more…
Polls will tell you most people support shop local, in theory, but in reality there are a lot of hurtles to getting people to do shop in your local stores on a regular basis. Many of these hurtles involve preconceptions people have about local stores. Don’t ignore them. Take the Read more…
Fall is a wonderful season. For much of the country fall provides a respite from the scorching heat. Fall also begins the community season with harvest festivals, hayrides, pumpkin patches and more leading into the holidays. It’s a time that brings people out to enjoy the last of the nice weather, Read more…
Schools are about to be in session and for some students that means leaving home for the first time. If you know of someone going off to school there’s a very good chance, that young adult will be missing his/her hometown before too long. Give the Gift of Local Read more…
Don’t have the right words to market your shop local campaign? That’s okay. Sometimes all it takes is a picture. If you’ve wanted to bring more attention to your local stores and community, one of the best ways to achieve it is through sharing pictures of your town on social Read more…
If you’re trying to encourage people to shop local, you know getting them to adopt the concept is not hard. Getting them to your local stores, however, is more difficult. Common Obstacles to Shopping Local While the idea of shopping local seems like a great idea to most of Read more…
Often the biggest obstacle to people shopping local is top-of-mind recognition. The local store simply doesn’t come to mind first, Target does. This is remedied by marketing, and lots of it, but that’s often not in a small merchant’s budget. If you’re the local chamber of commerce or merchants association Read more…
There are decisions we make in life that are easy to feel good about — eating healthy, working out, or spending time with someone who needs your attention. But you should also feel good about buying local. Here’s why: You Just Helped Someone Pay Their Bills By placing money in Read more…
