People love free and often when we incentivize their “good behavior” they tend to repeat it. Here’s a creative idea your chamber can use for the holidays to get more people to shop local.
Catch Them in the Act with Chamber Bucks
One of the most effective positive reinforcements occurs when we “catch” someone performing a behavior we appreciate and we reward them for it. The reward can be expected or unexpected but it makes a lasting impression on the recipient. “I did something good. I got rewarded.”
It also transfers the positive feeling of receiving an award to whatever they are being rewarded for. For instance, if you surprise local shoppers with free chamber bucks for making a local purchase, the good feeling of receiving a reward is transferred to the act they were doing when they received it. Subconsciously, people who receive awards for shopping locally will have an increased positive view on buying local.
Great Idea but How Do We Fund It?
Giving out chamber bucks as a reward for people who are buying local seems like a great idea but who can afford to give out chamber bucks throughout the holiday season? One inventive chamber solicited sponsors for the local chamber bucks holiday giveaway program. With companies paying for the bucks, the chamber could then go out and “catch” people buying local during the holiday. The chamber staffer chose random shoppers and walked up to them with their gift for shopping local. As word got around it served as an extra incentive to get out there and shop. After all, everyone can use a little extra money when it comes to holiday gift giving.
A side benefit to this reward was that it spread the word about the chamber bucks program as well and reminded people it’s a good gift-giving option.
If you offer sponsorship for this sort of program make sure you give the sponsoring companies plenty of notoriety. A nice touch is attaching a holiday card from the chamber and the sponsoring business to your chamber bucks. This means the recipients will appreciate the chamber and the sponsoring company; they’ll will remember chamber bucks are a great gifting option; and they’ll have a very favorable view of shopping local.
