Better Living Partnership Post: 4 Ways to Partner With Vendors for a Successful Community Event

Summer is a great time to bring the community together for an event. I love a good BBQ with some nice steaks.

When you’re planning your next neighborhood event, don’t ignore the positive effect that your vendor partners can bring to your community. Here are a few of the ways they can help:

1. Working With Vendors To Save on Costs 

By working directly with your vendors, you may be able to access discounts or rebates by buying in bulk or registering with vendor programs. That means money back in your community’s pocket, and that makes everyone happy.

But don’t ignore key sponsorship opportunities. If you can bring in a vendor to sponsor your community event, that can keep overall costs down – or you can spend that extra money elsewhere to take your event to the next level. It’s about spending what you have wisely.

2. Letting your Neighbors Get to Know the Vendor

I always tell homeowners that finding a good contractor is a lot like dating. I’m kidding, but relationship building with vendors is a similar process. It’s about building trust so they can get to know the vendor and feel comfortable with them.

By having vendors present at community events, it gives the homeowners an opportunity to speak with vendors face to face in a low pressure environment. They’ll be able to ask their questions, as well as physically pick up and handle products to get a better sense of how they work instead of what they just see online.

3. Letting your Vendors Get to Know your Neighbors

On the flip side, it’s also important for your vendors to get to know your local residents. Each neighborhood may have it’s own unique concerns and it’s important for your primary vendors to learn what those are. By speaking directly with homeowners, they can learn about their needs for the neighborhood and adapt their services to best benefit your community.

For example, when I work with 3M Safety products, I get to show people how to physically use different products. Just like on my shows, I can speak with individual homeowners and find out if they are tackling their own woodworking projects, or basic maintenance tasks while offering tips to make sure they’re taking these projects on safely.

If the vendors know better what homeowner’s are trying to achieve, they can make better recommendations, and offer maximum value to your community.

4. Vendors Can Promote Best Practices for Maintenance & Safety

I always find it worthwhile to bring homeowners with my partners together, because that gives both sides the access and knowledge they need to Make It Right.

Mike’s Event Tip:

A typical event for me would involve calling my friends at Napoleon to get a barbecue for grilling (I take my steaks medium). Not only does that demo the unit for the vendor, it shows homeowners how they can operate it safely, and directly experience the value of the product.

Before you plan your next community event, look at what your vendors can bring to the table. They may just have that extra ingredient that your next event needs to make it a true success.