It’s been 53 days since Hurricane Helen devastated my hometown of Asheville, but I’m going to agree with you: I took a shower in a FEMA trailer this morning, so it’s still very difficult to care sending rates and conversion optimization.
Lucky for you and me (and my editorial calendar), I found a story that I care about. And my sense of humor is still (for the most part) intact.
It’s a story of intelligence and kindness. The story of a business owner who used her influence to help her community. And a story about how your brand can do the same, if you find yourself in the middle of a crisis.
And don’t worry: we’ll also look at examples of how businesses of different sizes have contributed, so there’ll be some for you SMBs and marketers too.
Making magic in a difficult time
Charla Schlueter sits in front of me, meticulously shuffling a deck of Magic the Gathering cards. Yet every time the door next to us opens, she welcomes each new arrival with a smile and their first name.
Schlueter is the owner and operator of The players’ dena small game store in Asheville, North Carolina. Since the hurricane hit, my son and I have been coming every week looking for something the store provides for free: normalcy.
But we’re not actually in Gamers’ Haunt. Not correctly. We’re sitting in the two-room kung fu studio that graciously allowed Schlueter to house a makeshift store after a maple tree brutally inserted itself into its roof during the hurricane.
Despite the change in location, the studio is packed with Schlueter’s regular customers. It’s game night and the turnout is high. They are also there for a little normalcy, but they are also there to support Schlueter and his team.
This is the kind of community your social media director would commit crimes for. He is fiercely loyal and constantly committed. And that relies on Schlueter’s unwavering kindness.
Her cuteness is only belied by two things: the way she absolutely annihilates my 9 year old in Magic. And the cleverness with which she leverages her business influence to help this community.
A stormy surprise
We each draw seven cards and start swapping stories about how the hurricane turned everything upside down.
“After the storm, I did my best to try to track down as many customers as possible to see how they were doing and make sure they were OK,” Schlueter told me, fixing his hand.
During one such recording, she and her team helped a client clear the rubble of his flooded home.
“We go to her room and she’s all covered in mud because the whole house was submerged,” she said. Yet among the silt and mud, there was a surprise: the cards he had purchased at Gamers’ Haunt had survived. The boxes they were stored in, designed to protect them from incidental wear and tear, were apparently also disaster-proof.
“Sure enough, we open the Boulder boxes, and everything is fine.”
To spread some levity during this difficult time, Schlueter shared the discovery on the Gamers’ Haunt Facebook page. That’s when the brand behind the boxes noticed it.
Schlueter lays down a card.
“Once I posted about it, Ultimate Guard contacted me and said, ‘Oh, this is amazing. Do you mind if we share this? And I said ‘Absolutely!’
She turns the card on its side to signal her attack.
“As long as you share my client’s GoFundMe with him,” she smiles.
If I have enough, I’m fine.
Ultimate Guard agreed to share the customer’s GoFundMe with their audience – about 10 times more people than Gamers’ Haunt could otherwise reach. (As a bonus, they also sent free gifts to the customer and the store.)
I asked Schlueter why she didn’t ask that they share her own GoFundMe. After all, the store had to be emptied after the tree hole let the hurricane in without asking.
“I’ve always had this motto: ‘If I’ve had enough, I’ll be fine,’” Schlueter says. “At this point, the community has stood up and done a lot of wonderful things for my business. »
To that end, the store’s GoFundMe reached its initial goal in just over two days. And the community has given him more than just financial support.
“It was incredible. Six people brought tables and chairs. Hordes of people came to help me move inventory out of the store while it was still flooded. I can’t even name the number of customers who came to help me.
So why did the community stand up for them? Maybe it’s because all the employees know them by name. Maybe it’s because the store is run by the kind of people who shovel mud for casual acquaintances.
Schlueter thinks it’s something deeper.
“It sounds cheesy, but I firmly believe that if you take care of a community, they will take care of you. And the hurricane proved me right.
What to remember from a typhoon
I recognize that building community is a different exercise for a mom-and-pop store, but if you zoom out, there are lessons here for brands of all sizes.
I sincerely hope you never need these lessons, but you should consider them before a crisis arises.
1. Take care of your community.
When disaster strikes, you can worry about your own business. First put on your own oxygen mask. But once you’re safe, your next thought should be your community.
After the storm, Schlueter and his team created free Magic card games for people who lost their cards during the storm.
And while it’s a good thing to do on an individual level, it’s not just about replacing material goods. Without their cards, community members cannot participate in the weekly games.
“If you lose your Magic deck, you lose your community. So I think there’s a lot more to this than just personal belongings.
2. Use what you have on hand.
As a business owner, Schlueter benefited from the attention of a vendor, which she leveraged to bring greater awareness to the needs of her community.
That’s what she had on hand. Your business may have different resources.
When local restaurants Blunt Pretzels And The bear’s smoking room had to interrupt normal operations in the wake of the storm, they could have simply closed their doors. Instead, they partnered with World Central Kitchen to use their kitchen space to provide free hot meals to the community.
Highland Brewery‘s main resource was an abundance of space, which they donated to humanitarian organizations like Beloved Asheville, World Central Kitchen and Wine To Water. These organizations used the brewery as both a central hub and a storage area for the enormous amount of supplies needed.
3. Patronage is also a resource.
Remember that the money you spend (on daily operations, relief efforts, or even your own recovery) can also be a form of relief.
When Red Vittle Vittles And Food from Mother Earth began offering freshly cooked meals to shelters, they sourced the ingredients from local farmers. This support is of great importance to small businesses who may have lost their ability to support themselves.
4. You don’t have to fix everything.
In the aftermath of a crisis, the scale of the problems to be solved can seem insurmountable to those who wish to help.
Breathe deeply. You don’t have to fix everything. Find an area you can tackle and focus on that.
When our schools were closed for several weeks, children needed something to occupy their time. (Keep in mind that we also had no electricity during those weeks.)
Comic desirea favorite local comic book store, responded with a sale of children’s books and comics.
As a parent of a 9 year old, I can tell you that the sale was deeply appreciated.
5. Don’t treat this like a campaign.
Throughout October, a community care station with showers, washing machines and drinking water was set up in the parking lot of a nearby grocery store.
He was quietly paid by Pratt & Whitney, an aerospace company with a manufacturing plant in Asheville. No sign announced it. No banner saying it was proudly sponsored. No brand awareness was generated.
But the news is getting around. And the locals remember these things.
How you can help
Even though Western North Carolina has fallen out of the news cycle, we still greatly need your attention.
In the days and weeks immediately following the hurricane, an influx of food, water, clothing, medicine and love helped us simply survive.
But as we move from survival to recovery, the type of help we need also changes.
The resource I have at hand is a newsletter and a blog, with a large audience full of beautiful people like you. So I’ve loaded this post with links to amazing local brands that could use your support. If you feel compelled to help, consider clicking a link and checking out what they have to offer.
