The owners of the Chagrin Hardware store had a really great trading day on Saturday due to a simple ‘Cash Mob’ email rallying local support for the store in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
It is heartening to think that social communication can spread good news and encourage good intentions as well as propagating rumour and gossip. It is nice to hear heartening stories of altruism and charity. It is great that big brands can afford to be generous, offering cash donations to charity for each retweet of their brand.
But all of us have the power to do something for good. And a simple email can be all it takes to start the chain reaction.
James Black, a local resident of Chagrin Falls, Ohio did just that. He sent out an email on January 14th, asking his friends to show their support for the local store, founded in 1857.
He asked them to spend at least $20 at the hardware store on Main Street on January 21st. He wanted local residents to show their support for the store.
Passing it onwards
His original email was forwarded over and over again. Bruce Corson from the Village council posted the email on his Facebook page. The news spread by Facebook sharing and the word of mouth network.
And on 21st January the town arrived at the store. People were queued out of the door to buy items they needed. Some of them didn’t even ‘need’ to buy anything, but just came anyway. “We didn’t have anything we had to get, but we found things we had to get,” said Chad Schron, one of the locals.
Local support for the store meant a really good trading day for the owners. The initial email and subsequent amplification by social media brought the community together to support its local business. Social sharing helped the news to spread more easily.
A win-win for everyone in Chagrin Falls, and a nice example highlighting that social media can help anyone — even the smallest company.
