It’s been said that you can live without friends but not without neighbors. When the Delta and Omicron variants rushed onto the COVID-19 scene, the chamber of commerce in neighboring Brookline knew that could spell doom for local brick-and-mortar stores still struggling to bounce back from the pandemic’s first wave.
“In March 2020, when businesses unexpectedly had to shut down, the businesses that had an online presence and were able to sell services and products online had an advantage,” says Debbie Miller, executive director of the Brookline Chamber of Commerce.
Her solution? A digital boot camp for the town’s old-school businesses—from restaurants to property managers to game shops—to grow their cyber skills. A state grant funded the effort and encouraged collaboration with another community—in this case, a longtime neighbor. Cecilia Nardi, director of community relations with BU Government & Community Affairs, sits on the Brookline Chamber of Commerce board of directors, as well as the board of the business group Brighton Main Streets, and she quickly recruited a handful of marketing and public relations faculty to step in to help businesses in both towns.
Questrom School of Business marketing faculty Patricia Hambrick, Kim Donlan, and Susan Jung Grant, and Amy Shanler, a College of Communication public relations associate professor of the practice, joined forces to run a 13-week virtual crash course on marketing, branding, public relations, online outreach, and cybersecurity.
After the boot camp, Donlan said, “You’ll never look at your business the same again...but if everything goes well, you’ll all have a more profitable business.”