What do cows, pigs and other farm animals have to do with Nutter Corp.? Nothing. But it’s because of cows, pigs and sheep that Nutter Corp. interacts with almost 100 more people each year than it normally would.
Farm animals allow us to get to know the world of 4-H, which has become a partner of sorts for Nutter Corp. Some of the 4-Hers volunteer and perform job shadows at the office and in turn, we support them through volunteering. All said, Nutter Corp. communicates with hundreds of thousands of people that have nothing to do with our business.
Why would we do that?
Communicating with the community should be important to every single business owner. Requests from nonprofits give your business the opportunity and permission to do so.
We all receive requests from persons and organizations looking for help in some way. Nutter Corp. chooses to respond to each and every request with a letter or a telephone call. That’s important because every single letter or request is an opportunity to build one’s reputation and build more business.
While that’s not what such requests are initially looking for, you should remember that the premise of doing business is to each gain something better than you had before you started working together.
You can gain time back by reducing the amount of time you spend looking for new clients by working with organizations that approach you. You can gain in reputation and ability to do more business.
Building a reputation
Nutter Corp. has built an environment where employees are able to dedicate time to events and organizations in which their families are interested.
“We are all working for the same reasons,” said Jerry Nutter, president and CEO of Nutter Corp. “We are working to take care of our families and the places our families call home.”
One could assimilate that if such a company responds to requests for funding or other help, that it would also be responsive to clients when there is a problem or other concern. This is how you build reputation. Responding to these requests from the community showcases a company’s caring attitude and shows that it will take care of people and the places we care about.
It’s not possible to fund every single request, but a business can congratulate and speak with everyone who approaches us. Sometimes you can help make connections for someone – you never know how a person is connected to a project that your company wants to work on. It happens.
Communication is a privilege
You might be concerned that getting involved with nonprofits or charitable organizations are full of money issues that are difficult to discuss. But by proactively communicating, you are inviting the organization and its people to get to know your company better.
By involving ourselves with these requestors, we gain additional knowledge about the community in which we live and work.
Nutter Corp. builds relationships with people who oftentimes become clients or refer clients to us. People do business because of people.
Giving is really good for business, which is part of the reason Nutter Corp. has no beef with working with our local charitable organizations.
