Dec. 10, 2023

“It’s the impact you’re trying to make and the microphone you have to use.”

Someone essentially said as much to me in an interview on a different topic last week, but it resonated in the context of this column too.

As I shared a week ago, I decided that this holiday season was the time to step up and do more to support local retailers, especially downtown.

So each lunch and for one bonus happy hour, I popped up live somewhere downtown that I’d randomly selected and started shopping.

I talked with the local business owners and managers, learned what was new in the store and let my audience be live guides as I browsed, and I ultimately bought several gift items to then give away to our readers.

It took some time. It took some money. But it was one small way I could show support and most importantly say thank you to the community and the consumers who allow me to have the microphone that I do.

There’s power in credible, effective, objective information and in finding ways to create relationships that amplify that microphone. I saw it at work when a viewer had shown up to buy one of the items I’d featured at the store before I’d even packed up my things to leave.

My small efforts and your bigger, collective one, are adding up. I feel better about the state of small retail today than I did a few weeks ago as businesses are starting to tell me they’re experiencing strong weekends, and I personally saw more foot traffic than normal thanks to our incredibly cooperative weather.

But I was reminded that life as an independent or small retailer always brings that next challenge when I chatted with Kelly Grovijahn, owner of MK Threads.

Things were going pretty good this holiday season, she shared. But she’s already hoping sales hang in there in January and February.

“We need something like the Burger Battle for retailers,” I responded.

Then, she told me about a partnership she and fellow small business Papa Woody’s Wood Fired Pizza initiated last January. Every Papa Woody’s receipt during the Downtown Burger Battle included a coupon redeemable at MK Threads. And every MK Threads customer received $1 off a burger at Papa Woody’s.

“Even that helped,” she said. “But we need to do that more consistently.”

Then, it popped into my head.

Downtown Burger Battle buddies.

Almost any restaurant participating in the popular January competition will tell you it’s not worried about revenue that month so much as it is keeping up with demand.

So how do we extend that into our retail community where it’s not as easy to make the cash register ring in the first quarter?

Create a Burger Battle buddy.

For each restaurant participating, why not randomly choose a retailer to pair together? The two could work on co-promotion while customers enjoy extra savings and learn about other businesses.

I decided to float it out there now knowing that these things take a little time to coordinate, so who knows if it could work formally this year, but certainly there’s nothing to stop other businesses from pairing up the way MK Threads and Papa Woody’s do. And maybe others already are; I’m not sure.

But there’s no doubt that thinking differently and working together are what it takes to support local businesses through changing times. Using the microphone is important. But sharing the microphone is always better.

To shop local in replay with us, click here.