July 16, 2020

Our town is getting zigged up one way and zagged down the other by tourists and locals alike in search of vacation stays and bragging rights. The Commerce Connection Quest was designed to get people moving while helping the businesses of Saint Joseph, Missouri get to know their neighbors (from a distance) and let them know where to get the best service or products when they need it. Designed a lot like geocaching that gets folks out and about and gives them a goal to achieve – this Quest will additionally award a Vacation Stay grand prize worth over $1,500. The phrase “Grand Prize” might be misleading, however, since everyone who completes the Quest in its entirety within the month will receive the vacation stay!

But there is still work to do. Grab the “Commerce Connection Quest” app in your app store (available on all platforms) – then check into each participating business via each company’s Facebook page with a selfie that you take at that location in front of the themed, decorated window. This method has a number of advantages over the old Like, Comment, and Share posts where Facebook tends to hide that kind of activity. One advantage is actually stopping by the business to know where the folks are who work every day to perfect their craft and maintain a storefront in our community. With online purchases and delivery becoming so convenient (and sometimes necessary), this Quest will help businesses maintain a nice flow of local, social media awareness all while being safe.

In order to achieve the Grand Prize, participants must complete the circuit of all the vendors in a calendar month. Getting to each location should be easier currently as we are building more awareness for the program – ultimately the Quest will be at 100 unique vendors and achieving the vacation stay will be much more challenging, so get started right away.

And starting this month, we are featuring local artists work on select business windows to make the Quest more of a rolling art show. We were not disappointed with this choice. About half of the checkpoints around town featuring the artistry of one or more of our awesome, initial crew that jumped at the opportunity to graffiti with no consequence. The only thing missing in the masterpiece is you! You will come away with some very cool selfies from your trip to Saint Joseph and potentially, even more, when you get your Resort Vacation Stay for playing.

The Commerce Connection Quest was the brainchild of Missouri Business Podcast host, John Piazza Norton, who thought this would be a fun way to get people to realize how many wonderful businesses there are in Saint Joseph while benefiting both the business owners and the consumers during a scary time. That was the framework for this family-friendly scavenger hunt.

For those wanting to take part, there is a three-question simple signup to help you get the app type that you need to get underway –

www.missouribusinesspodcast.com/ccq 

The Missouri Business Podcast is designed to help small business owners and entrepreneurs get their startup stories out to the world. The focus is on getting to know the personality of the people who run the businesses all around you, how they help the community, and why they might be a great fit for the work someone is looking to get done. For more details please visit www.missouribusinesspodcast.com or contact the host directly at the Podcast phone line, 816-388-0462.

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