Businesses Join GoLocal

How GoLocal Uses an $8 Million Shared Brand, a Local First Campaign and Cooperation of 300 Members to Shift Market Share to Local Businesses

By: GoLocal Staff

March 17, 2010

When you join GoLocal—Shift Happens

"The best way to beat organized money is with organized people."

Over the past five decades trillions of dollars have been spent with the aim of convincing the American public that globalization and mega-corporations are the way to go. "Choose them first and you'll save time and money for the best selection," we're told. In that time we've seen the retail market share in Sonoma County held by large corporations go from about 10% to over 50%.

GoLocal organizes people and businesses to reverse the market share trend and swing it back to local providers. Make no mistake about it, you can be a huge supporter of all things local and live your life and run your business that way. But if you fail to organize with others who are doing the same, then your message and what you represent is confined to your small fragment of the world.

By organizing hundreds of local business owners and banding together to present a united front, we are able to affect change gradually within the mainstream of society. No one business owner can do that to any significant degree. Leveraging our strength in numbers we can, under one brand, affect change among large populations.

Recognize too that your contributions in the form of annual fees provide the sustenance that GoLocal needs to organize, communicate, provide marketing to reach the general public, work with public policy makers and develop programs with members. In return, you get the loyalty of other members who will support you as you support them. An organization in name only is not good enough. We have created an organization that achieves good works through strength in numbers. Together we shift the market share to locals.

How Our $8 Million Shared Brand Gets Results

GoLocal's marketing goal is to shift purchasing of goods and services from non-local to local businesses. Our shared brand is effective to the extent it accomplishes that. Every business owner knows that in order to attract customers one has to promote one's business to potential new customers. Our shared brand effectiveness has a similar requirement.

The greater our brand value, the greater our influence to shift behavior. Our shared brand message is very positive for the community on many levels. When people act on our message, we can greatly improve our local economy. It doesn't ask people to buy more of anything. It means making a conscious choice—local first. The more times and the more often they are exposed to this positive message over time, the more likely they are to act on it.

Our diversity of business members matters. It creates more opportunities to reach more people more often.

Our group advertising programs like Made Local, Bank Local and the Rewards Card Pocket Guide concentrate the power of our shared brand to accomplish more than any one member could do alone.

Local First is Working

There’s a groundswell of support from residents for locally owned businesses sweeping the US, and Sonoma County is a leader in this regard. In surveys nationwide, residents say they want to support their locally owned businesses. Their number is growing dramatically as they learn the advantages of shifting their purchases.

Most residents say they will support locally owned businesses to a greater extent if they know which ones are locally owned. When you become a GoLocal member, you’re immediately included in our online business directory and can appear in other sections of the GoLocal website, like the Personally Speaking profile, News Briefs, other stories, and through posting events and offering rewards. Additionally, you receive a member emblem to display at your store or office. GoLocal membership will make certain that residents can identify you as a locally owned business.

Take a look at some of our business members:

Stories and Interviews: Featured Business Members and Personally Speaking
Member Directory—Home—Category page—Detail business pages

It’s Easy to Join GoLocal

Verify your business meets our member criteria.

Must be privately held, not publicly traded.

Must be a registered California business and headquartered in Sonoma County.

Must have authority to make all critical business decisions locally.

Business Membership Tiers

Below is a table that shows the new tier structure for annual business membership dues.

Gross annual sales are for Sonoma County market sales only.

Each member has a unique anniversary for dues—membership begins on your join date and renews on that date each year thereafter. Renewal letters are sent out one month in advance of renewal dates, for plenty of time to review and renew.

Click here to go to the submit application form to join online through PayPal.

Set up a user account, complete the form, make your dues payment via PayPal and then you’ll be redirected to your account management page to create your directory pages.

To join through a PDF application

Go here to download the application, complete it and mail it in with your check payment. Monthly payments are only allowed through the online submission of payment as indicated above.

After You Join, You May Become a GoLocal Rewards Merchant

GoLocal's Rewards Program serves all members—residents, business and non-profits. The GoLocal Rewards Card helps make the shift happen—rewarding all members for spending within the GoLocal membership. It gives great value to resident members and helps them find and shop with our business member merchants.

As a business member you can participate in two ways. You can electronically process the card or just ask cardholders to show the card. Electronic processing allows you to participate in network rewards and review purchasing data. Well worth it if you know how to use marketing data in your planning.

1. Rewards Card—Electronic Processing

We're happy to dazzle you with details if and when you want them, but for now, here's the simple description of how this innovative program works.

Every member of GoLocal is issued a rewards card (residents, businesses and non-profits). It looks like the one shown above.

Business members can become a rewards card merchant by request. We set up the necessary tech stuff at your point-of-sale. Now you're ready to offer Rewards to GoLocal members.

Four ways to offer rewards.

GoLocal bucks—when members shop with your business, you can receive and rebate GoLocal bucks.

First Visit Reward—give members something on their first visit using the rewards card.

Dollars Spent Reward—give members something if they reach a spending goal, like a free item for spending $200 over time.

Total Visit Rewards—this is the most common loyalty offer. As an example, you may offer something special on the tenth visit.

Review and Manage Your Rewards Card Offers

You'll see all your rewards card offers and completed transactions on your member management page (where you also manage your business directory pages).

We give you the full scoop on participation after you join.

2. Show the Card for Rewards

We encourage business members to make special offers for members and non-member cardholders. Cardholders simply show their card to get discounts.

Comments (1)

I am a 32 yr self employed small business person offering Home Theater sales and installation in Sonoma county and the surrounding area. Many of my customers are very successful local businesses. If you are interested, I might be able to persuade a couple of them to speak to a meeting about marketing or business profiling. As the former president of the Western Alameda Business Assoc. it has been my experience that simply roundtabling with other business people yields tremendous improvements. Great ideas come from the most unexpected sources. As far as Walmart is concerned, its gloves off. Consumers need to know what it really costs them daily to allow irresponsible cannibals like that to exist in the community.

posted by Bruce Conrad on 10/17/10 @ 07:01 a.m.

Become a Member of GoLocal

Renew Your Membership

Related