A group of Mercer Island merchants are beginning to band together to grow their businesses and improve awareness of just what the Mercer Island Town Center has to offer.

Islander, John Keith and others have formed the Mercer Island Merchant Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting Island retailers. The group is looking to sign up and organize members to hold marketing, events and promotions.

Longtime Mercer Island residents and local small business owners, John and his wife, Theresa Keith, owners of the Hennie McPennie children’s shoe shop, said the organization aims to promote to the local community the value of shopping on the Island among its wide variety of businesses.

“This is a very exciting time for our small business community,” said John Keith. “From restaurants to book stores, hair salons to pet shops, the Island’s retail core has something for everyone. We have seen a lot of commercial and residential development in the past few years, and the Mercer Island Merchant Association has been formed to help retailers take advantage of that growth by maximizing exposure through marketing, public relations and special events.”

For a very minimal cost, our promotional activities will significantly enhance exposure for all businesses, he said.

Marketing activities through the Association will be designed to take the guesswork out of publicity and promotions for retailers, allowing them to focus on growing their business while also participating in robust marketing campaigns directed at target audiences, Keith said. The Association aims to work with its membership base to generate programs such as advertising, outdoor signage placement, special event production, sponsorship coordination and more, that are customized and scheduled so as to maximize exposure and achieve results.

“We don’t offer any ‘one size fits all’ marketing solutions for businesses,” said Keith. “Our members are not only our colleagues but also our friends and neighbors. Our success is based on our personal relationships with local retailers, and the fact that we know what they need and we know how to get them results here on the Island.”

In addition to promoting local businesses, the Mercer Island Merchant Association aims to raise the awareness among Island residents about what local retailers have available right here, Keith explained. “The Association’s mission statement “Stay Local, Shop M.I.” reflects this philosophy, encouraging the idea that Islanders don’t need to look any farther than the local business district in order to find goods and services that they seek for everyday living,” he said.

For an annual membership fee of $35 any Mercer Island business with a retail-zoned space is eligible to join the Association.

To learn more, go to  www.mimerchantassociation.org or call (206) 291-2300.