Fall 2015
THINK. SHOP. BUY. LOCAL REIMAGINED Sinceitsinceptionin2009,thegoalofthe Think. Shop. Buy. Local program (TSBL) has been to educate consumers on the importance of shopping locally; and to encourageconsumerstothinkbeforethey shopandtobuylocallywheneverpossible. Throughtheyears,RMAhasusedavariety of tactics to promote TSBL including advertisements, promotions, contests, social media and websites.
engagementwiththebrand.Thismeans, we want consumers to do more than recognizetheTSBLsticker.Wewantthem toembraceshoppinglocallyastheirfirst choice for purchasing.
6 RMA Members in the News
HOWwillwedothis?Whilewe’llcontinue toadvertiseandsharefactsaboutshopping locally,itistimetotellsomestories. Stories help us connect with our audiences in a waythatcharts,graphs,andstatisticscan neverdo.Andstoriesmotivateaudiences to act.
e-newsletterstokeepupwithnewstories andfreshcontent.Asconsumersseetheir friends, neighbors and favorite shops in thesestories,they’llbeabletocomment, shareandparticipateintellingthestories as well. In fact, we are already seeing a growth in engagement.
WHAT kind of stories? We’ll be telling stories that relay the depth and breadth of the local retail scene. They will be compelling narratives that relate consumers’ personal experiences with
We‘vegotagrowinglistofbothconsumers and retailers who have a story to tell. All of which will lead them to engagement, andeventually,toadvocacy. Sojoininthe movement and help tell the TSBL story.
In order to do this, we need to move the consumer along the spectrum of engagement with TSBL. Now this may soundlike“marketing-ese”, butit’sreallya logical approach to changing behavior.
local businesses, creating relevance for ouraudience.Thesewillincludeconsumer testimonials,memberspotlightsandretail news.They’llillustratethelevelofservice, relationshipsanduniqueexperiencesthat canonlybegainedthroughlocalshopping.
WHERE can you find these stories? They will be shared through the TSBL blog, website and e-communications. Plus they’llbereferencedinTSBLsocialmedia While we’ve had some success in raising Considerthespectrumofengagementin postsandthenfurtherdistributedthrough theleveragednetworksofRMAmembers. awareness, RMA is ready to take TSBL four stages: In fact, we’ve already started! Check tothenextlevelbyincreasingconsumers’ Unaware » Aware » Engaged » Advocate out the newly updated TSBL website In This Issue... (ThinkShopBuyLocal.com) and see for Currently, most consumers fall into the yourself! We’ve streamlined the site to unaware or aware stage. To be honest, 1 Think. Shop. Buy. be cleaner, easier to navigate, and more even some of our RMA members are still Local Reimagined compelling for visitors. Here consumers inthesestages.Tomoveconsumersalong 2 Letter to Members the spectrum, we need to educate them can find all the TSBL favorites: Stories, aboutWHYit’simportanttoshoplocally. Deals, Events and our Directory. 3 Welcome & Congratulations! Inotherwords,weneedtogetthemtosee Visit the site often and stay connected why they should care! to the TSBL social media channels and 4 The RMA Scene
7 RMA Members Who Made the Inc. 5000 List 8 RMA Endorsed Vendors 9 Welcome New Members 10 Virginia Retail Federation Update 11 RMA Events Calendar