How do you encourage ongoing particpation, interest and support from the local community?
Several questions were asked at the recent Community Shop Network meeting in Plymouth about how to retain customers, how to retain volunteers, and how to retain engagement and participation in the running of community shops.
A few suggestions from the day are outlined below
- keep reminding people about the benefits of a community shop - its social function and value, its impact on the environment through reduced travel, the volunteer and employment opportunities, its support of local producers and businesses etc
- keep asking your customers what they want from their village shop - undertake surveys and questionnaires, keep a product request book, set up a suggestions box, ask and listen to your customers
- ask and listen to your volunteer - they are often the people who get to hear what people want
- review your product mix and keep looking to see which products sell, what you make the best margins on, what you loose on wastage
- make sure you are offering customers something different and unique that they wouldnt be able to get elsewhere - local food for instance is something national retailers struggle to do well, and products specific to your region or locality.
One way of attracting interest from the community is to make sure that all organisations within the village are aware that you will handle ticket sales and promotions for their events - it is particularly worth strengthening the bonds with schools, pubs etc.
New case study and toolkit demonstrating how social media can help recruit volunteers
As part of the Capacitybuilders' funded Modernising Volunteering workstream, the Volunteer Centre Brighton and Hove were selected by Red Foundation – leaders of the ‘New Forms of Involving Volunteers’ workstrand – to pilot the use of social network services to demonstrate how volunteering support services and volunteer managers could benefit by actively engaging with these networks. After exploring various social media platforms to support their day to day work the Volunteer Centre has put together a case study and toolkit for volunteer centres and other volunteering support services. To find out more and download the resources please visit: www.improvingsupport.org.uk/volunteering.