While Canadian small businesses still make up most employers and retailers in our local economies, it is becoming harder and harder to stand out from the crowd and the ever-growing competition while our economy is growing. Finding ways to stand out are very important to boost your businesses brand recognition, generate sales and revenue to grow, and increase your customer base.
Community Engagement can give your business more visibility in the local market, help you become involved in local initiatives, and build relationships with potential customers. Over time these relationships with show customers they can trust you, and when customers trust you, they are much more likely to return and do business with you again. They also give you the best free advertising you can get, which is positive word of mouth! When your local community sees your company attending local trade shows and job fairs, or even sponsoring local sports teams and arenas, it’s a great way to show you do care about the needs of the local area, and that you are not only there to do business and leave, but you are there to be a part of it.
A few ways other ways this can be done are by supporting local charities like Food Banks, or Addiction and Mental Health support groups. These groups are constantly needing more support as our populations get larger, but they are easily forgotten in a busy world like we are in today.
The key to all of this is being authentic in your support. Find local initiatives and charities close to your heart, participate actively in local business trade shows, attend job fairs that support students that will be looking to join the workforce in the future. It’s not always about the money either, a recent survey by Queens university found that 90% of Canadians surveyed think that it is more important for a business to show authentic support than the amount of money is donated or other supports the business may provide.
Hopefully this will make you think of ways to become engaged in your local community and find ways to help you build local brand awareness, stand out from your competition and grow your business in the future in a positive way!
Chad Gjertsen
Branch Manager – Kristian Electric ltd (Edmonton)
Director at Large – WeBA
Article for reference on survey (Smith School of Business survey reveals Canadians have high expectations that businesses contribute meaningfully to solving the world’s most pressing challenges Posted on January 30,2023)
https://smith.queensu.ca/news_blog/2023/2023_Smith_survey_Canadians_expectations_of_business.php
