Connecting with the community can improve your image by highlighting your business values.
Sept. 1, 2010
Tired of sending out the same old tin of cookies as a holiday promotion? Read how shops are winning business—and community kudos—by getting creative with their holiday offerings in "Help for the Holidays."
Supporting community service organizations can illustrate the values of your business—and the holiday season is a smart time to do just that. Sheryl Driggers, co-owner of Universal Collision Center Inc. in Tallahassee, Fla., partnered with Operation Homefront, an organization that provides assistance to military families. The shop adopted a family for Christmas last year, spending $600 on gifts and a holiday meal. Driggers says giving back to the community is essential. “If it weren’t for our community, we wouldn’t be in business.”
In turn, the community gives the collision repair center even more support and greater loyalty. “When we do things like this, people can see we have a different culture within our business,” Driggers says. “Our customers understand the values on which we run our business, and it’s different from what they typically see from businesses in today’s marketplace.”
