Shop local movements have become very trendy but how do you put one together for your community? The same way you eat an elephant (as the old saying goes), bite by bite.
Obtain Buy-In
The first thing you need to do is rally your local merchants. If you have a quaint downtown, you’re fortunate. It will make your goal easier. If your local merchants are scattered around town, you’ll need a way of uniting them through creating a map or a website.
Before you do any of that, visit with them and get their buy-in and feedback on launching a campaign. You’ll need their support and lots of volunteers.
If you are an individual find a entity like your local chamber of commerce, mayor’s office, or economic development council that has something to gain by helping out businesses. Often they have greater name recognition, a larger audience, and access to more volunteers than you do. If you represent a chamber or EDC, get your board on board.
Get the Word Out
Once you have support, you need to give your merchant base something to work on. Create a shop local event or expo, a map of local businesses, a Christmas buying opportunity, etc. You want to bring the community together in a big way to show them you’re embracing the shop local movement.
Once you host your big event, continue that momentum by creating a website or working with a business on an existing one. Some ideas include:
- Take to social media.
- Work with local media.
- Write a letter to the editor.
- Launch a campaign using all resources available.
- Adopting a local currency program.
Remember how you got buy-in from local merchants, use their expertise to help you and ensure they are working to get the word out as well.
Be Ready for the Naysayers
Although supporting local businesses sounds like one of those mom and apple pie topics that everyone supports, prepare to have your share of people who will not support you in your efforts. They will argue:
- Box stores employ local people too.
- The economy is global now, not local.
- The Internet is redefining the definition of “our backyard.”
These may all be true but shopping local still means a larger percentage of the dollars you spend are kept in your community.
Stay the Course
The key to building momentum is making shop local a constant and consistent effort in your community. It involves education and marketing. You might take your messages to the schools, to social media, to anyone who will listen and you must keep at it.
Are you thinking about a shop local campaign for your community? Tell us about it. We’d love to hear your thoughts below.
Image credit via morgueFile by jdurham
