By Ellie Shippey, Contributor
Getting involved in your local community is not only a great way to show your appreciation and do good in your neighborhood, but it can also boost business.
When you support local vendors, businesses, charities, and individuals, you’ll have more people interested in supporting your restaurant versus out-of-state chains.
Let’s go over five ways you can get your restaurant involved in your local community and further explore why you should.
1. Give to Charities
According to research, 73% of American consumers say their buying decisions are affected by a company’s charitable giving.
While giving back to your local community is a great way to help others, it can also improve your restaurant's reputation, increase your sales, motivate your employees, and be a tax deduction.
There are a variety of ways to give back. Your restaurant could coordinate with a school or charity and deliver a free lunch to their staff each month. You can post photos on social media and share the story. This will not only highlight the charity or the hardworking people in your community but also your restaurant.
Having donations brought to your restaurant for a charity can help bring attention to your business and create awareness of a community issue. Consider giving a discount or a voucher to people who bring donations to help the event succeed.
Planning a charity event where a percentage of the profit goes to a nonprofit is a good way to boost business and be able to donate to a cause. Offering a special or a drink on the menu that benefits a particular charity is another excellent way to share the love.
Shining a light on local charities will help you gain loyal customers and help you get more positive reviews. By boosting your reputation, you can retain devoted employees and become a pillar for good in your community, bringing everyone closer.
2. Host Events for Local Businesses
Getting involved in your community helps grow your audience and your brand's reach by establishing cost-effective, professional relationships.
Collaborate with other businesses and host events and campaigns that are mutually beneficial. Offer catering, a conference space, and discounts to other local businesses. Try swapping coupons or providing special deals together for customers.
Create a winning email script to engage customers and shine a light on other businesses, offering exclusive deals and insight into new offerings each week.
3. Be Active in Local Festivities
Participate in local events and festivals. Have a booth or tent prepared for community events like art, food, and music festivals. This will help get your restaurant's name recognized by the community.
Your restaurant can offer samples or a select menu at city-wide events, allowing people to see your participation in the local community, which will help spread the word about your food.
Offer special events at your restaurant, like cooking classes, and share some of the secrets of your trade with the community. You can have the classes in person or host an online class and allow patrons to order and pick up the ingredients at your restaurant. This is a fun and unique way for people to spend an evening, and they’ll be sure to share their experiences with others.
4. Highlight Local Artists
A restaurant has the potential to offer more than just great food or drinks, it can also provide an experience.
Use your restaurant walls as an art gallery, spotlighting a new local artist every month. Provide the artist's information and post the price of each art piece next to the art, allowing them to sell their art through your restaurant’s gallery.
Hosting live local music every week is another great way to bring new customers in and help local artists in your community. This can increase business during a slow time and create a memorable environment that people will enjoy sharing with others.
5. Collaborate with Other Businesses
A collaboration with a bakery, chef, or another popular or up-and-coming vendor can be a great way to get people to come in. There’s a variety of ways to divide the shares and responsibilities, but be sure the collaborator has the necessary permits and insurance before proceeding.
You can create a pop-up where tickets are purchased and the revenue is shared, or the pop-up business can collect revenue solely on the item they are offering that day, such as a special dessert or beverage.
Collaborating offers patrons something new and exciting and can get new people in who enjoy the collaborator's offerings.
Use local ingredients and offer local beer, wine, and other goods. Have special reservations for chef-led dinners, vegetarian dinners, or other themed-dinners where local products are highlighted.
Invite a representative from a brewery or winery you use to talk to patrons and allow them to order a case or bottle from the vendor if they enjoyed the vendor's product. This is a great way to spread the love for other local businesses and host an event that the community will enjoy and talk about.
You can share information about the local vendors your restaurant uses on your website and provide links to their websites. Build a creative website and increase your ranking with link building services or utilize a social media marketing company to help drive traffic.
Having an online presence will not only help your local community understand what your restaurant is all about, but it will also help out-of-towners get an idea of your restaurant before they visit.
