How to Engage with your Community

Small, medium and large businesses vary in a myriad of ways, from their technologies and team structures to their annual gross incomes and employee benefits. Typically speaking, it’s quite simple to look at a list of corporate policies and practices and then group the business into the proper “size” category relatively accurately.

One thing all businesses should have in common regardless of size though, is their belief, and practice, in engaging within their communities.

It’s important to note though that community(ies) will look different for all business owners based upon the size, scale, and location(s) of your business.

You could define community as the small village that your 5-employee tea shop serves (geographical region), as the global network of loyal brand followers you have built (community united by a product), as the cause area your business chooses to direct its charitable efforts toward (a community for a purpose), or any other variety of groupings in which you define a set area or set group of persons whom you rally around at a corporate level.

Once you have established what community means to, or will look like, for you and your business, you’ll be able to step back, and home in on ways to authentically engage with these groups.

We encourage you to dream up ideas specific to you and your business (there truly are hundreds of ideas to choose from) but in understanding that you’re likely quite busy, we figured we’d provide five of our community engagement techniques to get you started on your journey:

• Offer Free Services or Discounts: Celebrate your local population, your employees, or any other group you feel deserves spotlighting (while avoiding discrimination by offering free or discounted services or products. Not only does it encourage business; especially the repeated kind, but it directly shows your employees, customer base and community that you are grateful for them and the support they provide.
• Run Workshops for Local Small Businesses: Should your business provide services, consider offering free or low-cost workshops for local small businesses (examples include tax preparation, basic construction, plumbing or HVAC services, landscaping, etc.) Not only are you getting a chance to show your expertise, but you’re also giving local businesses a leg up, offering an easy way for them to fix a problem, or avoid a future problem altogether.
• Sponsor Local Events: Sponsoring local teams or events taking place in your community is a classic, and excellent “two birds, one stone” business decision. When you sponsor, your name is seen by a multitude of individuals – many of whom might not yet be your customers, and at the same time, you directly demonstrate that you care about the happenings within your community, and the individuals partaking in them.
• Become a Member of Community Groups & Councils: Very few ways are better to showcase your involvement in and care for your local community than by establishing membership in organizations existing to benefit small businesses and community growth. Becoming an active member at a level like this allows you to have a consistent presence and strong voice, organise events, cast votes on business support measures and implement countless other initiatives to help shape your best possible community.
• Be Present: Youth sporting events, community fairs, town meetings, charity outings and the like all present an opportunity for you as a business owner and leader to show your face, and by extension, your support for your community. Be present, be active and speak up and out where appropriate. When you consistently appear throughout your community, residents begin to see you as an active supporter of the world around them. You will earn their respect, and likely their business.

Now please keep in mind that these are just five of the hundreds of ways by which you can engage with your community. At its simplest level though, community engagement comes down to being present.

Once you’ve established a consistent physical presence appropriate and feasible for you personally, you can begin to fine-tune where it is you most often make appearances, where you could delegate employee representatives to attend, etc., and you can begin to scan for and address gaps within your community.

Take engagement for what it is, an opportunity for genuine enjoyment and growth. Yes, you will need to dedicate time and resources, but what you will get in return from grateful, fulfilled community members, employees and customers are more than worth the investment.