Cash Mobs – consumers building their local brands

The idea that a small business can get as much visibility as a big business in a local market seems daunting at best given the cost of advertising and marketing, both online and off. But now there’s a new approach that’s really helping local businesses build market awareness. Fed by the “buy-local” movement, the idea of flash mobs has turned to “cash mobs” by orchestrating large numbers of folks through email, Twitter  and Facebook postings, to rendezvous at a specific business location to support a local business by having a “group” buying experience. This idea has spread from Cleveland to San Diego, Portland, Oakland and even in the United Kingdom.

The great thing about the cash mob concept is that it’s all local, usually led by a by local group with the intention of leveraging their purchasing power through a focused event to support local businesses. This both “brands” the local group as the resource as to what’s out there in the local community. It also presents a great opportunity to local business to expose large numbers of local folks to their store, restaurant or service without paying the extortion-level promotional fees of a Groupon (which takes half of what you make). So, as a small “brand” you can use a cash mob opportunity to connect with customers using special offers and deals, or feature foods you normally would not highlight, and collect the customer emails to market back to them to build your brand further.

At the end of the day the cash mob is a consumer-led campaign that improves visibility for local business, promotes business loyalty, and that benefits everyone by building local relationships.