The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce’s Couch and Click webpage is now redesigned to help more small businesses in a more effective way thanks to the desire of one small business wanting to help others.
St. Joseph web design agency Midcoast Collective saw first hand how some employees in downtown businesses were being affected and wanted to help. Midcoast Collective worked with the Chamber to make the new page more user friendly with a stronger call to action to buy gift cards now for future use.
“We saw some of our favorite local businesses being forced to let staff go or close entirely,” said Nate Arnold, Midcoast Collective partner. “It was so sad and we knew we could do something to help.”
The new site divides businesses up into four categories: faves (unique local restaurants), craves (national franchises), retail and services. The only requirement to be on the site is to be a business serving St. Joseph residents with gift cards for sale.
“We want these businesses to make it through,” Arnold said. “Those us of who can help should. Businesses may need to get a little more creative in how they package their products, but we also share in the responsibility of helping sustain them through crisis. We want to do what we can.”
The Chamber’s first Couch and Click page launched on March 17 and has been very popular among the business community and its supporters. It highlighted restaurants and retailers that offered curbside pick-up and delivery. The new site expands that to gift card sales and added service providers.
“The Chamber’s mission is to support business in any way possible,” said Kristi Bailey, Director of Communications and Marketing. “As the pandemic and its effect on business continues, it’s our job to keep adapting to help businesses succeed. The new site is a great example of that.”
In this time of crisis, the Chamber is not limiting its services to members only or charging a fee for non-members to be a part of Couch and Click. If your local business offers gift certificates and would like to be a part of Couch and Click, e-mail bailey@saintjoseph.com with the link to your online store where gift certificates are listed or a phone number where people can purchase over the phone.
If your business currently doesn’t offer online gift card sales, there are multiple ways to set this up quickly through Square, PayPal and Kabbage. For more information and links, see the Chamber’s COVID-19 website under Business Resources.