While many of us have seen the rise in popularity of flash mobs, another type of mob is beginning to hit social-media outlets and small businesses across the country—cash mobs.
Chris Smith, an engineer from New York, who birthed the idea of cash mobs, describes them as “reverse Groupons,” that were essentially created as a "chance for business owners to begin building a longer-term relationship with customers.”
Chattanooga recently held its first cash mob at Cadence Coffee Co. and the Daily Flower. Around 75 Chattanoogans signed up to take part in the event, however, only a few actually showed up. Regardless of the turnout, owners of these businesses were anything but discouraged and still look toward cash mobs and social media to help advertising on their slim budgets.
With more people than ever now connected through Facebook, Twitter and the other social-networking sites, word of mouth marketing seems to be a concept that could prove to be a major money saver.
The basic idea of cash mobs are to encourage people to visit local businesses in large groups at a specific time and ultimately support and positively impact businesses, as well as the community.