Marketing in Our Community

This blog comes from an inspiration from a good friend and firette from the Lethbridge and Area Volunteer Fire Department. I openly asked in a Facebook status for blogging ideas and she certainly inspired me and gave me the idea for this one! 

The Lethbridge and Area Volunteer Fire Department celebrated it's 26th anniversary last week. Twenty six years of hard work and dedication from a select few members. I have personally been involved with the fire department for about ten years myself. The fire department, though quite successful today, has spent several years struggling to survive. At one point, only two years ago, the fire dept. had only nine members, not all of which were active. The department was faced with the decision to stay open or close and leave a neighboring community with the responsibility. The decision was clear that they had to put up a fight before they closed down their beloved organization that was literally built from scratch, including a wooden pumper truck.

The department resorted to a concept that we have learned in our first year business course, MARKETING! The department had to find ways, and fast, to help with the recruitment process and ensure that the department had to close. Through the distribution of posters, letters to all house holds, door-to-door campaigning and house calling the department recruited 12 new members, including the department's first female firefighter, in a very short period of time and new members continue to join. The firettes, auxiliary, continues to run strong as well, though not as plentiful as firefighters continues to run strong. Today the department continues to run successfully and be strong.

• Bingo: A weekly fundraiser for the department.

Then I came to realize that it wasn't only then that the department has to use marketing. They use it for almost everything they do. Any fundraisers, announcements, special events and more all use marketing. Not only the fire department but almost all non profit organizations have to use marketing to survive. Marketing is not only in the business product selling world but everywhere we go and within everything we do.