By Meg Moss
Who doesn’t love a great game of BINGO? The Sanford Area Growth Alliance – Chamber of Commerce is providing the public the opportunity to both play a BINGO game, and support local businesses at the same time. Local Business BINGO is taking place now through May 3rd. BINGO cards are available for pick up at the Tramway Diner, Chocolate Cellar, Camelback Brewing, Hugger Mugger, Kathryn’s Hallmark, and Aye! Toro.
It’s super simple, and can be a lot of fun. One square in particular is as simple as “leave a positive review for a business on Google of Facebook.” Why is this important for a local business? Ninety-seven percent of consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2017, with 12% looking for a local business online every day, according to an online Business Strategy article. Additionally, 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Speaking of personal recommendations, another simple way to check off a BINGO square is to recommend a local business to a friend. This game is based on trust, folks – only check the box if you have actually completed the task!
Purchase a piece of furniture. This square can be checked off by visiting one of several Chamber of Commerce members. I recently visited Dossenbach’s Finer Furniture, Stanley’s Home Center, the Unfinished Furniture Outlet, and Sweet Dreams Mattresses for the purposes of this BINGO game. If you need a piece of furniture, there is simply no reason to leave town to make that purchase.
Enjoy a Sweet Treat. Our staff had a great time with this BINGO square! We hobnobbed around town enjoying pies and ice cream. From the Flame Steakhouse, to the Fairview Dairy Bar, the Chocolate Cellar, Davison’s Steaks, San Felipe and finally we ended up at Yarborough’s Homemade Ice Cream. And since my teenage son works at Yarborough’s, I just may have felt the need to purchase a double scoop.
Enjoy a local meal, or utilize curbside pickup. Whatever your comfort level is for eating out, you can cross off a BINGO square for either. And with the myriad of locally owned restaurants to choose from, it certainly won’t be hard to find a location. It will be harder to choose which is your favorite!
Go outside! Another easy BINGO square to cross of the list! Enjoy an afternoon at Deep River Sporting Clays. I’m better at enjoying their beautiful trail than actually hitting the clays, but it’s always a nice outing. Pretty soon, you’ll also be able to enjoy Endor Paddle. Kayaking and tubing down the Deep River always sooths the mind as you get out into nature. And a round of golf certainly counts in this category. Carolina Trace Country Club, The Golf Course at Quail Ridge, Tobacco Road and the Sanford Municipal Golf Course are all calling your name. And while not a business, you can certainly also enjoy walking the trails at San-Lee Park, or Kiwanis Park.
Once you have achieved BINGO by crossing off consecutive boxes either vertically, horizontally or diagonally, you can turn your card in. You can drop it off on the ground floor of the Buggy Building – 115 Chatham Street, or for contactless submission, take a picture of your card, and email it to frontdesk@growsanfordnc.com. Cards will be drawn at random for prizes starting May 3rd.
And special thanks to the Asor Collective, owned local Rosalinda Cruz, for partnering with us on this project! The Asor Collective guides retailers, entrepreneurs and direct to consumer manufacturers in strengthening their brand, products and services while developing strategies and creating operational efficiencies to grow their business.