Community Engagement Events - What works best?

[EmsIceCream]

Hello Square Users!

We're going to be opening a new brick and mortar ice cream shop in a fairly dense residential area. The shop will be located across the street from a large park where there is a lot of youth soccer events and a popular dog park. The retail center also includes two popular local restaurants, a coffee shop and some retail spaces.

My question is, what sort of programing have others done in their own shops that has been successful in building brand/shop awareness and customer engagement? I know there are some other ice cream shops in the area that have magicians, face painters, musicians, etc. come out on a regular basis, but I was wondering if anyone has already done some experimentation to see what sort of events work best.

Thanks in advance!

Andrew

[keicollective]

growing up my soccer team would always go to get ice cream or pizza after tournaments. there was a discounted 'soccer scoop' and all the kids got to pick their flavor of ice cream (it was just a single scoop on a basic cone, but they sold a TON of them). if you can market to the coaches or the team parents who organize the snacks and after game hang outs, that would get recurring business all throughout soccer season! 

I'd also suggest doing something with local artists. We get a ton of extra traffic anytime we do a small pop-up shop with a local artist. Get 4 - 10 local artists together for a market day if you have the space! They always promote to their audience where they will be and it helps generate a good community feeling. They get to have a space to sell their art and you get increased traffic 

[EmsIceCream]

These are great ideas! Thank you!