5 Reasons Why You Should Pivot Towards Community during COVID-19 for Small Businesses
Since March, we've created a new initiative, Lunchboxes for Love, to make gourmet sandwiches, coffee, and donuts to deliver to over 40 different hospitals and served over 2,000 people. As being the Donut Princess of Los Angeles, I want to continue to boost the morale of those working on our front lines with boxes of happiness. With no end to COVID-19 in sight, here are 5 reasons why you should be pivoting your focus to your community:
As a small business owner, it is more important, now more than ever, to reach out to your community as it is a great way to drive business as the focus of small businesses now more than ever will revolve around their stance as an ethical company. Consumers are now interested on the stances that companies take on real world issues. 56% of Americans stop buying from brands that they deem unethical. (Mintel, 2015) Due to the swift exchange of news information, mass public opinion can go viral, whether that be good news or bad news.
Living in a digital age, there is such a large room for partnerships, like the video above highlights, Vanguard Originals, has teamed up with us to continue to distribute meals to those who are working so hard to care for us all while risking their lives. If you are thinking about or have always wanted to work a specific company, this is the perfect way to combine skills and contributions together to make it into a group effort towards a great cause. There are thousands of non-profits that are also available and create room for opportunity to grow together. This will entice followers of both companies to overlap and can drive visibility and more revenue.
Your community has a powerful repertoire-- and the sooner you realize this, the sooner you can work together with your community to promote your small business. With the fast-paced exchange of information, this can create new relationships with those you've donated to, who will in turn, tell their own circles about your brand or product. There is no harm in asking for your community to support you as well, whether that be helping to post a review, sharing with their friends on their Instagram page, or physically coming in to support during this time. These relationships are crucial, if nurtured, to create a lifelong lifetime value of a client.
4. By taking action, you are showcasing your company's values, which the general public may or may not have known previously. If these values align with your customers, they are more likely to support a company that supports them.
5. Altruism-- as the CEO of a company is taking strides to support other human beings who are struggling, it is our duty to the society that we live in to lead your industry at the forefront of being a company that gives without expecting anything in return. Altruism is defined as “good deeds done out of nothing more than unselfish concern for others.” We are constantly trying to find ways for our guests and clients to become superfans, who share what our company is up to and proud to support a small business that is taking a stance for the community.
In the video, you can find myself, Mayly Tao, Monica Lin, Benji Liu, Brian Puspos, and Nicolette Mora at the Veteran's Hospital in West Los Angeles. We have donated over 500 donuts to them in June 2020 as they see increased COVID-19 patients visit their ICU. Thank you to @JohnTieng for capturing these moments.
You can follow more of my journey on Instagram: @maylytao, @donutprincessla, @dksdonuts, @lunchboxesforlove or listen for more small business tips on my podcast: Short N' Sweet: A Donut Princess Podcast by DK's Donuts.
