how to use goodwill to support your brand
and community

As a business owner in the age of Yelp, you’re hyper-aware of how easy it is for consumers to post reviews. Research has shown that customers who have a negative experience are two- to three-times more likely to write a review than those who had a positive experience.
 
Spreading goodwill makes people feel good about your business, builds positive brand recognition and helps overcome negativity. Creating goodwill can help you to establish and nurture relationships that ensure the long-term success of your business.

One way to create goodwill in your community is to consider sponsorship marketing. Sponsorships are one of those marketing activities that might not necessarily bring leads to your doorstep; however, sponsorship marketing goes a long way in crafting the image you want to put out in the world about your business. It is meant to connect with people’s interests and passions, and engage them with your brand in a positive way (that doesn’t feel salesy!).

Here are three ideas for leveraging community opportunities to build a great brand image that gives back.

Create an experience.
Partner with your local parks and rec to offer an experience, such as a rock climbing wall or a running clinic for newbies. Don't have the budget? Similar sponsorship activities on a much smaller scale could include adopting a park bench, caring for a green space along a bike trail or buying a personalized brick in a park path. Having a hand in beautifying the places where people spend time is a wonderful way to indirectly connect with consumers.
 
Do well by doing good.
Corporate giving is a fantastic way to contribute to the health of those in your local community. For example, many parks rely heavily on the generosity of businesses to close the gap from the limited financial resources that come from the cities and towns in which they exist.

Sponsor a gala, make in-kind donations or coordinate with a park to underwrite a corporate volunteer-day project for your employees. You could even tie this into popular "holidays" such as International Running Day and International Yoga Day to share on your social pages and show that your company walks the walk.

Think outside the box.
Consider sponsoring a children’s sports team, or that new bike share program in your city. Reach out to non-profits in your primary activities to support their programming. For example, Colorado's Running Start program helps women eliminate the barriers to fitness by providing participants with personal motivators and a 12-week training program to complete a 5k. Programs like this are always looking for brand partnerships.
 
The value that people get from programs such as these, including healthy activity and fresh air, is an example of the qualitative ways that your business can connect to people’s interests and passions, while also paying for a little quantitative advertising!

Do you have community give-back events planned and need help telling those stories? I offer a complimentary 1-hour discovery session to explore how my services can support your marketing goals.
Contact me today.