post-Veterans Day: A Call to Action

Did you know there are more than just a hand-full of ways to thank a veteran? Our MilitaryAvenue team was busy brainstorming easy ways for the every-day American to thank a Veteran and we came up with quite a list! If you missed it check it out: "101 Ways to Thank a Veteran" It was featured at Army.mil, many-personal and professional blogs, a number of military-gear sites, facebook accounts, and tweeted all over twitter. People want to share how THEY can help support our US Veterans!

So now is the call to action!

25.Offer a Military Discount year round and include veterans. Don't forget a
Military Discount equals a free ad on MilitaryAvenue.com. Find out more: Why
is a Military Discount Valuable for a Marketing Strategy

Do you offer a Military Discount year round? We don't just give 'Thanks' on Thanksgiving; we do it year round. We aren't thankful for our family only on Christmas; we are year round. We aren't thankful to be a great country only on the 4th of July; we do it year round. We shouldn't give thanks to our Veterans only on Veterans Day!

If you are a MilitaryAvenue.com Partner already, THANK YOU! Please let others know how they can 'Thank our Veterans'.

If you haven't signed-up yet become a MilitaryAvenue.com Partner today. You will be proud of thanking our military-families 365 days a year!

- The MilitaryAvenue.com Team

November's Featured Military Reward

Fall is definitely here and our beautiful leaves in Michigan are now gone! During October we continued to see a rapid growth in the number of new ads at MilitaryAvenue offering a Military Reward! We enjoy seeing all of the new ads at MilitaryAvenue because they are connecting the military community with military friendly businesses that support the troops with actions! There are so many new ones and their great Military Rewards make choosing the best one a very tough job! The MilitaryAvenue team has chosen a military family owned photography business with a great MilitaryReward! If you know of a business offering a military discount tell them about MilitaryAvenue!

This Month's Featured Military Reward is given to:

Bittner Photography

Their Military Reward says:

25% Discount to Military Personnel & Family. Thanks for serving our country!!!

Click here to view the coupon featured at the Pentagon, Andrews AFB and Ft Myer.

A special thank you to Bittner Photography and all of our MAPP partners for supporting your military community with your Rewards.

Why Should Your Business Offer A Military Discount?

We choose a Featured MilitaryReward each month to highlight our Partners and their wonderful support to the military community! Our military family team chooses one based on value for the military family and how well it sends the message "military friendly business".

MAPP Tip of the Month

"Walk a mile in my shoes" is usually used to describe what you should do before you criticize someone. I would like to use it differently to describe what you should do while considering marketing to the military community!


Have you ever walked a mile in a pair of combat boots?! How about the sneakers of a young child who has a parent in Iraq/Afghanistan and fears they might not seem them again? Or the heels of a woman who goes to bed every night without her husband knowing he is flying dangerous missions and she can't fall asleep without praying for him for an hour? Or wear a husband's dress shoes while he worries about his wife in a combat zone without him nearby? How about a parent's work shoes that raised and protected a child and now that child is in combat and they can no longer protect them?

Those "shoes" reflect the military community and what they face day to day and cope quite well with I might add due to community support such as yours! Schools, military programs, the Red Cross, YMCA, etc have all leaned forward to help the military community while it is fighting the nation's wars and you as a MilitaryAvenue Partner are doing the same! Thank you so much!

Tell your story while you listen to theirs! How do you walk in their combat boots in your ad! A simple "thank you" says a lot! Take the time to make the ad tell your story of support and appreciation. Make the Business Profile and Military Reward have some pzazz! Believe me everyone likes a buck but some times recognition for a sacrifice, job well done, etc. carries a bigger kick when reviewing an ad. Update your ad with a year round MilitaryReward but if there is a special event add a special for the troops coming home, Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Armed Forces Week, etc.

Once you make contact with a military community member interested in your services or products; make it stick by showing appreciation for veterans, military members and their families during business hours! Train your front line sales personnel to look for an ID card at the register and tell them about the military specials and say thank you! How do you present yourself as military friendly!

Have you hired a veteran recently, a military family member or the teen age/college age kids of a deployed parent? Do it and then tell the community about it! Show how military friendly you are!