You know what a Flash Mob is, but have you heard of a Cash Mob? Have you participated in one? Does your chamber sponsor them?

Cash Mobs are similar to Flash Mobs in that groups of people show up unexpectedly in one place for a similar and specific purpose. They are designed to give a business – typically locally owned – a rapid infusion of cash without any effort on the part of the business.

If done properly, a Cash Mob can be of benefit to both local businesses and the chamber. They can also be opportunities for your community to come together to support a #ShopLocal endeavor.

While the effort to pull together a Cash Mob when you haven’t done one previously may seem daunting, it can actually be far easier than you think.

One of your first questions is likely going to be how to select the businesses you target for the Flash Mobs. We suggest you first rule out chain or big box stores. Next, you have two options. You can enter all of your members in a randomizer and let it make your choice for you or you can simply choose based upon need. You will know which businesses need a quick infusion of cash.

We have created a list of pre-event marketing items needed to galvanize your community behind the event.

Keep the location of the chosen business a surprise until the time of the event. Either meet at the chamber or meet at a location close to the chosen business. Walk together and surprise the owner and staff.

Encourage everyone involved to plan to spend between $10-20. If you set the encouraged amount at $20, you may accidentally discourage some people from attending. But with a range, you will likely find that people will attend and will spend more than the low end of the range.

You can even do a Cash Mob now, virtually. Simply announce everything on your chamber website. Select a local business & encourage everyone to go to that business website and purchase gift cards to be used at a later date. Or select a restaurant and announce that a certain day will be Cash Mob Day at that place of business and encourage getting take away or curbside from that restaurant. Encourage everyone to use the selected hashtag and to take photos of their participation.

YGM presented a Facebook Live last week giving information on how to conduct a Cash Mob, and that information is available on the YGM Facebook page. We invite you to review it.

If you have further Cash Mob questions, please let us know. We are happy to help.