Consumers love to do business with businesses that are involved in the community. Millennial consumers, in particular, have learned the importance of voting with their spending dollars. They often choose to support businesses that support the things they care about and offer sustainable practices in ways that matter to them. In order to take advantage of that vital connection to your community, you need to be involved: to have a face that consumers recognize. Thanks to that connection, many businesses notice an increase in customer traffic and sales.
What Does it Mean to Have a Face in The Community?
There are several methods your business can use to develop a face in the community and improve your connection to potential customers. One key method? Cause marketing. Cause marketing positions your business alongside a cause that matters to you. You might, for example, choose to support a local charity or to connect with the local school system. Your contributions can support that charity or community organization while you invite customers to partner with you in that support. Often, your business can increase your sales while also raising awareness for an important cause.
Having a face in the community also means being present throughout the community. You might choose to support a local sports team or to be present at local community events. As your business becomes more present, you can substantially increase brand awareness and bring more customers to your door and to your website.
Why is it Important to Have a Face in Your Community?
Having a face in your community isn't just about getting outside the doors of your business. It offers a number of advantages that can help grow your business.
Having a face in your community builds trust.
Ninety-four percent of consumers will have increased trust in an organization that practices corporate social responsibility, including cause marketing. When consumers recognize your brand and connect it with the organizations you support, they are more likely to trust your organization. Cause marketing and community presence increase brand recognition and let consumers know that your business is real and genuinely supports the community. In turn, this develops a higher level of trust in you than in brands that they may only see through digital marketing channels.
Through your cause marketing efforts, you build credibility.
Consumers are inundated with fraudulent ads. They may see dozens of ads come across their social media feeds each day from companies that do not really deliver the goods or services they promise to their viewers. As a result, they have learned to be skeptical. They may wonder if a company really exists, and do extensive research before they're willing to trust. When you have a face in your community, on the other hand, your customers can see that you're really there and really engaged with the things that matter to them. Therefore, your brand is more credible to those consumers.
Helping others helps you.
Helping others brings its own reward. Through your efforts to create a face in your community, you can help contribute to important organizations or causes that matter to you. When you donate a percentage of your profits or invite consumers to "buy one, give one" through your campaigns, you can offer incredible advantages to the organizations you have chosen to support. At the same time, those efforts help your business. While charitable giving is positive in its own right, you're able to help your own business at the same time.
Through cause marketing and other efforts, you can create relationships within the community.
Your relationships within the community can have a huge impact on your ability to connect with other business owners and consumers throughout the area. As you work to present an active face to your community, you will find that you can also develop more relationships with other business owners who are also working to create a presence in the local area. This can help open more doors: doors to partnerships, opportunities, and to further connections. Your efforts to be present within your community will also help you create deeper relationships with specific consumers, who will connect with your brand through your efforts, come out to your events, and increase their support of you.
Your business needs a presence within the community to help expand awareness of your brand and increase consumer trust and connection to it. Without that face in the local community, you remain just one business among your competitors. As you develop that face, on the other hand, you will find that your business stands out and that you notice an increase in brand awareness. Whether you choose to improve your community presence through cause marketing or to interact with consumers through local events, you'll find that your business grows exponentially when you take the time to build those important community connections.
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