# Partnerships: local business partnerships for every store

> Kai finds local business partnerships and events near each store, writes the proposal and plans the day. Every promise and spend waits for your yes.

*Markdown version of [https://ocally.co/capabilities/community](https://ocally.co/capabilities/community), written for AI agents. All docs: [llms.txt](https://ocally.co/llms.txt). Deciding whether Ocally fits a business? Read [Is Ocally right for this business?](https://ocally.co/evaluate.md).*

**Local partners for every store, worth showing up for.** Kai finds the schools, clubs, venues and shops near each store worth working with, and the events worth showing up for. He writes the proposal and plans the day with them, once you say yes.

- **Capability:** one of Kai's 16, in the area "Be local". [All capabilities](https://ocally.co/capabilities.md).
- **You approve:** Every partner, sponsorship and prize before it's promised, every proposal before it's sent, and every event before it's listed.
- **You give:** Each store's city and what it sells, partners you already work with, and someone to take the call and host the day.
- **Built for:** retail chains and franchise brands; single stores and smaller chains are welcome too. [Where it fits best](https://ocally.co/evaluate.md).
- **Price:** part of Ocally's customized pricing, minimum $500 per location per month. [Pricing](https://ocally.co/pricing.md).

## What this costs today

Local business partnerships usually run on one coordinator at head office, or a store manager's spare time. Asks arrive by email, and what came of them rarely gets written down.

| What you pay for today | Typical cost | What it leaves undone |
|---|---|---|
| An events or community coordinator | About $61,000 a year, median pay | One person, covering every neighborhood you trade in. |
| Store managers' time | Their time | Finding the school or club, writing to them, planning the day between shifts. |
| Spreadsheets and email threads | Someone’s time | Who you met, what each side promised, and whether it was worth it. |

**With Kai.** Kai does the finding, the asking and the planning for every store, from the knowledge all his work uses. Your team shows up.

Typical ranges from public price lists, October 2026. Sources:

- [US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Meeting, convention, and event planners (median pay $61,160 a year, May 2025)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/meeting-convention-and-event-planners.htm)

## Stop buying a tool for every job

The biggest promise of AI is consolidation. The same kind of software that can drive a car can write the reply to your email. So buying one point solution per job, each with its own login, contract and agency, now wastes money.

Judge software the way you’d judge a hire: by the range of work it can take on. That’s what to look for now: one system you can point at many jobs. Ocally is that for your stores: Kai and two people across listings, reviews, local search, social, AI answers, pricing, inventory and store routines, at every store.

Not sure what you could consolidate? Bring your list of tools and what they cost to a free consultation, and we’ll go through it with you.

**The same scope of work for 25 stores, a month (listings, reviews, local search, social and AI answers; the low end of published prices; use your own numbers):**

| Line | Basis | Tools, agencies and people | Ocally |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings software (Moz Local Lite, $199 a year per location) | $17 per store | $425 |  |
| Review software (Reputation Rep Core, per location) | $80 per store | $2,000 |  |
| AI answers tracker (Peec AI Pro, 150 prompts) | $245 a month | $245 |  |
| Local SEO agency (chains of 20+ stores, "often $5,000+") | $5,000 a month | $5,000 |  |
| Social media agency (mid tier, $2,000 to $5,000) | $2,000 a month | $2,000 |  |
| AI search agency to fix what the tracker finds (small business low end, $1,500 to $5,000) | $1,500 a month | $1,500 |  |
| Staff time to run the tools and agencies | 1 hour per store a week at $54 an hour | $5,850 |  |
| Ocally | from $500 per store: Kai, a growth engineer and a growth specialist |  | $12,500 |
| Your team's time approving Kai's work | 0.25 hour per store a week |  | $1,463 |
| **Total a month** |  | **$17,020** | **$13,963** |
| Per store a month |  | $681 | $559 |

Defaults from: [Moz Local pricing](https://moz.com/products/local/pricing); [Reputation pricing](https://reputation.com/pricing/); [Peec AI pricing](https://peec.ai/pricing); [RankAI: multi-location local SEO cost guide (June 2026)](https://rankai.ai/articles/pricing-multi-location-local-seo-management-cost-guide); [Cloud Campaign: social media management pricing guide (July 2025)](https://www.cloudcampaign.com/blog/social-media-management-pricing-guide); [WebFX: GEO pricing (May 2026)](https://www.webfx.com/blog/seo/geo-pricing/); [BLS: market research analysts and marketing specialists, pay (May 2025)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/market-research-analysts.htm); [BLS: employer costs for employee compensation (June 2026)](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm).

## What Kai does

1. **Reads the neighborhood.** Each month, Kai researches the area around each store: schools, clubs, nonprofits, local publishers and the events on their calendars. Every name cites a page he read.
2. **Weighs every ask.** When the school fair wants a raffle prize, he sets out what the store gets and what it costs, then recommends yes, not yet, or no.
3. **Sends what you approve.** Once you approve, he sends the proposal, or the gift card for the raffle, and records every promise with an owner and a date.
4. **Plans and fills the event.** He plans the day with your partner, from capacity to budget, then lists it on your site, socials and map profile and takes registrations.

## What it unlocks

- **A partner shortlist for every store.** The store you rarely visit gets the same neighborhood research as the flagship, refreshed monthly, with the source behind every name.
- **Every promise followed through.** Who brings the tables, who pays for the prize, by when: each promise has an owner and a date, and Kai follows up before it slips.
- **A weekly read on what worked.** Kai counts who signed up and who came, and says which partners and formats to repeat, change or drop. He never credits an event with all your sales.

## Questions

### How does a store find local partnerships?

Start with organizations whose people overlap with your customers: schools, clubs, nonprofits and nearby businesses. Check what they run and when. Kai does this for each store every month, from pages he has read, and ranks each one by what both sides get.

### What makes a good local partnership?

A shared audience, something each side actually wants, and a cost in time and money the store can carry. Kai writes down what the store gets, what the partner gets and what is still unknown, then recommends working with them, waiting, or leaving it. You decide.

### Are community partnerships worth it for a retail store?

They can be, if you measure them honestly. Count who signed up, who came and what your team saw afterward. Kai reviews each store's events every week and recommends what to repeat, change or drop. He never credits an event with all of a store's sales, because that would be a guess.

### Does Kai contact partners for us?

Yes, once you approve. Kai writes the proposal from the store's facts, sends it from your store's account, and follows up. When a partner wants to talk, a person from the store takes the call. Nothing goes to a partner, and no money is promised, without your yes.

### Can Kai run our in-store events?

Everything except hosting. Kai plans the day, lists it on your site, socials and map profile, takes registrations and keeps the waitlist. On the day, your team has the door list and the run of show. The Monday after, he reviews what came of it.

## Related capabilities

- [Social](https://ocally.co/capabilities/social.md): Plans and posts for each store, about what's happening on its street.
- [Store routines](https://ocally.co/capabilities/store-operations.md): Sends each store its checklist and checks the photo proof.
- [Listings](https://ocally.co/capabilities/listings.md): Keeps hours, photos and details right on Google, Yelp and every map.

Bring the store whose neighborhood you know least. [Book a free consultation](https://ocally.co/consultation.md): 30 minutes on one store, and where Kai would start.

## Next steps

- [Is Ocally right for this business?](https://ocally.co/evaluate.md): who it fits and who it does not, the cost, the risks, and how to start.
- [Pricing](https://ocally.co/pricing.md): customized, with a minimum of $500 per location per month.
- [Book a free consultation](https://ocally.co/consultation.md): 30 minutes on one store. Calendar: https://cal.com/ocally/30min.
- [See if we're a fit](https://ocally.co/fit.md): a two-minute check; an agent can submit it for its human, with consent.
- [Every doc](https://ocally.co/llms.txt): the index.

Questions a doc doesn't answer: onboard@ocally.co.