Need something to add to your Facebook feed, or an e-mail newsletter to your customers?  New arrivals and special events make good copy, but you should also consider mentioning your good deeds.  Customers like to support businesses that give back to the community, and if you are like most independent retailers, you give generously to as many groups as you can.

This recent e-mail blast from Fontana Sports, one of our fellow retailers here in Madison, WI, ended with a list of five organizations they supported during the month of February.  I assume that Fontana may have also donated to some individual school fundraisers or other small non-profits, but they’ve chosen to list those that most  members of our community would recognize and value.

Some stores have a sign in their store listing the organizations they donate to.  Others are afraid that doing so will lead to more requests, but this fear may be unfounded. If you have a clear giving policy, you can show that your list only includes local arts and education organizations (for example), and thus turn down a youth sports team with a clear conscience.

You’ll notice that Fontana Sports also uses a section of their e-mail newsletter to promote the upcoming Scout Week. While this may not be practical in a print ad that you are paying for, the free nature of e-mail makes it easy to “give” some space to a non-profit.  We often get a pair of tickets to a performance by local arts group and hold a prize drawing in the store.  Promoting the giveaway costs us nothing, since we do it in e-mail and on Facebook, and hopefully some of those who learn about the performance through our efforts will decide to attend.

Another aspect of good works that you might consider promoting is your relationship to the environment. We use biodegradable plastic t-shirt bags, for example — and the fact that we’ve taken on the added expense to do so is worth it if it makes our customers feel good about their shopping experience.

We make a point of asking our staff to vote for our store in the “Best of Madison” and other polls (as Hillel the Elder said, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?”), and invite our customers to do so as well.  When we win an award, we display it with pride and mention it on Facebook and in our e-mail.  There is no shame in tooting your own horn if it makes shoppers realize that your business is generous, engaged and well-respected by your community. Because that is just the kind of store customers like to patronize.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder