While no community can lock itself from the outside world, the importance of building relationships between local businesses and the local community cannot be stressed enough. This is the priority of every business in your area, as well as your local community leaders. Being involved in the community is good for any business while the community will do itself good by supporting local businesses.
Active Participants
Why do you think pharmaceutical companies form patient advocacy organization partnerships or deals with the likes of the American Cancer Society, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the American Heart Association? Do you think pharmaceutical companies still need to market their products when people are clamoring for medicines and vaccines? They work with these organizations because they want to find out more about how they can help their customers — health patients. Pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and other health care facilities partner with these groups because it’s their own way of giving back.
Local businesses need to be active participants in the local economy. They need to underscore the importance of the community in their successes. More, these businesses rely on the relationships they form with their customers to survive during the toughest economic letdowns. Local businesses are in a unique position of having the power to connect with their communities more than large companies can.
However, community involvement is easier said than done. Local entrepreneurs have to multitask that they often do not have time to give back to their communities. There are plenty of simple ways to do that.
Support Community Activities
Is there a weekend market in your community? Do they have a spot for your business? Set up a booth not to sell or anything, but to make your involvement known in the community. The members of the community usually come together during weekends, so this is the best way to start that connection with them. You can also encourage your employees to volunteer in worthy causes or lend your expertise to schools and other programs.
Buy Local
You yourself are encouraging people to buy from you, a local business. Don’t forget to give it back to the community by buying local, too. Keep the economy flowing with your activities. Save in a local bank. Eat in a local diner. Buy clothes from a local boutique. These will show people how willing you are to help the local economy.
Keep It in the Family
Speaking of buying local, the communities should do their part in helping local businesses, too. Instead of buying from a large bakery chain, they can keep the money in the local economy by heading to the local bakeshop. The same goes for when they need a new coat. Purchasing from the neighborhood shop is better for the community than going to a multinational clothing-retail company.
Keep the Economy Going
Small local businesses are more likely to buy from other local businesses, too. They keep the economy going by keeping the supply chain tight. As long as there is money flowing in the local economy, businesses will stay open, and more social services can be provided to the community members. ;
Employ Locals
The best thing that small businesses do is employ locals. They create jobs locally and hire people from the same community that they serve. In some sectors, they are even the ones that can provide better wages and benefits.
This give-and-take relationship between local businesses and the community works well for both. They can thrive and succeed with the help of each other. They are vital parts of each other’s strategy to reach their goals — a vibrant community and a stable local economy.
