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The definition of fight the good fight, besides the biblical version, means, “Do your best. Do what is morally right.”
“I follow three rules: Do the right thing, do the best you can, and always show people you care.” -Lou Holtz
If you have been a reader of ENS on Sales, you know that one of the things I feel very strongly about and am willing to stand up and fight for is that of our local businesses, and the battle they have with out-of-town e-commerce companies that do not support our communities in any way.
In a little over one week, the holiday shopping season begins. For many of your local retailers, this holiday season will be much more than fighting the good fight; it will be a battle of either staying in business or shutting the doors.
For the past three years, we have asked and suggested that you stand up and fight for your local businesses in the battle against online, out-of-town, e-commerce companies. Are we winning the battle? The answer for most is No! Due to the COVID pandemic, both Amazon and Wayfair posted huge profits in both Q2 and Q3 of 2020.
So, the question is… Do you sit back and let them continue to pick away at our local retailers, or do you keep fighting the good fight?
I can assure you that regardless of how the local businesses fair during the holiday shopping season, they will remember who stood up and fought for them.
“Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker
We hope that you choose to do the right thing and air ads in support of your local business community. To help, we have written a new “Buy Local” script titled, ‘Twas Just Weeks Before Christmas. Click here to receive a FREE copy of the script.
Keep Fighting the Good Fight!
Starting this Friday (now Thursday), the biggest shopping days of the year begin and your clients, particularly your retail clients, are scared to death. It’s not J.C. Penny, Best Buy or Walmart that scares them. Today, it’s Amazon and the many thousands of other online minions that are trying to gobble up their customers and rain on their holiday shopping parade.
Is there anything you can do about it? Yes, in fact, there is!
First, DO NOT buy on-line yourself, unless you cannot buy it at a “brick and mortar” store. Lead by example and share this with your team. We should never tell our employees where to buy, but you can encourage them and show them the impact it can and will cause. In advertising sales, we rely on the “brick and mortar” stores to make our living. If we personally don’t “walk the talk” and support them, how can we honestly ask those clients to spend with us?
Secondly, one of the most powerful things I have ever heard came from my lifelong mentor, Don Jacobs. Don ran what he referred to as TOMA Branding Ads for his group of radio stations which covered topics on advertising, business, and life. The most powerful one he ever wrote was titled “Buy Local”, and he ran it during the holiday shopping period. In a nutshell, the ad asked the listeners of his stations to buy local instead of buying online. He outlined why it’s important to our community and our local businesses.
Do you think the local business owners appreciated him and his stations for this message? They didn’t just appreciate it…they absolutely LOVED it! Finally, someone (this group of radio stations) was standing up for them and asking people NOT to buy online, but instead, support their local businesses.
It’s not too late to write and produce this powerful message and run it in your market. Like Don, you too will be a Hero!
Don has graciously offered to give you a free sample of one of his “Buy Local” ads. If you’d like to take advantage of this, click here and we’ll get you a copy ASAP.