All of our blog posts come from the personal experiences of our team (and killer, up-to-the-minute research), but perhaps none of the points we’ve brought up before are as close to our hearts as this one. Our own Sanjeev Rajput is a dedicated volunteer for YWCA Cambridge Walk A Mile In Her Shoes inequality awareness campaign and our team pitches in, too.
Volunteerism isn’t just The Thing To Do, it’s at the heart of why Jelly Triangle Marketing Marvels exists – we’re here to help someone. Our corporate and personal volunteerism has enriched our business, and it can do wonders for yours, too.
Networking
Naturally! This should be a no-brainer. You go out in the community, people ask what you do, and you get to plug your business. If the volunteer position is casual and sans dress code, you can even get away with wearing branded gear to silently spread word of your awesomeness. The key to success here is to avoid actively networking. Let the details of your business come from questions asked of you, not from business-card-laden handshakes. It’s like social media but in person (we used to just call this phenomenon “socializing”).
Organic Market Research:
Ever wish you could ask your customers what they want from a business like yours? If you choose a volunteer position co-staffed by your ideal market, you’ll get your chance. Again, don’t come on too strong, but if it were us we wouldn’t have a problem boosting a stagnant conversation while on clean-up duty whether they think business using cat memes is cool. You may be surprised at how much information you glean from non-business conversation too, like discovering what makes someone brand loyal just by joining in on a conversation about drive thru coffee.
Creative Problem Solving:
This is probably our favourite part of volunteering – getting the heck out of business mode. As an entrepreneur your mind starts and ends each day with work. When you’re looking to be a leader in your industry or experiment with a new advertising campaign it’s hard to think outside the box because you’re just always in it, and those walls are tall. When you volunteer you’re in a new environment that doesn’t have anything to do with your work, freeing you to experience other business activity, or just gain insights and inspiration from the people you interact with. When you see how well attended an event you’re volunteering with is, you can talk to the marketing team to get ideas on how to apply the same techniques to your own campaign. Or maybe that lady’s teal t-shirt will jumpstart your brain to a logo redesign.
Where should you volunteer to get the best business boost? Anywhere. It doesn’t matter where, what matters is that you’re doing it for the right reason. Volunteerism is most valuable on a human level, so choose an organization or field that you feel passionately about. Love music? Volunteer at a festival. Love reading? Join a magazine or newspaper board of directors. Have a personal connection to cancer or heart disease? Volunteer your time at a hospice or educational centre. Channel your do-gooder glee to career joy.
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