Why “Shop Local” Campaigns Don’t Work (and what to do about it)
While Shop Local campaigns campaigns may generate a slight bump in local sales for a few weeks, the results are usually mediocre and temporary. This is not a criticism of the people running these campaigns. They are likely doing as good a job as anyone could. The problem is, instead, with the nature of the Shop Local campaign itself.
Framing
The simple reason that most Shop Local campaigns are not successful is that they are inherently built on guilt.
Support local businesses.
Keep dollars in the community.
These messages focus on the wrong thing. They are born out of the needs of the businesses, not out of the needs of the consumer.
When a Shop Local campaign asks consumers to buy local, it’s akin to the ask of a nonprofit organization. It’s an appeal for support, for donation even, because it’s the right thing to do. But people rarely make purchasing decisions because they feel obligated to help someone else. And while such a campaign may generate a few local sales from supportive citizens, it will likely have no lasting impact on local consumer behavior.
Additionally, most Shop Local campaigns shoot themselves in the foot right out of the gate by positioning the local small business as something that needs support in the first place. Such a campaign is inadvertently introducing and putting forward the idea that the local option is lesser by nature. Then, the campaign attempts to overcome that very notion (that it is putting forward) with an appeal to social responsibility. It’s a self-defeating marketing framework, and the underlying message is “Please accept a compromise for the greater good.”
If communities want residents to spend more money locally, they need to stop positioning local options as inherently worse but somehow worthy. They need to stop framing the sell like an ask. They need to stop designing messaging based on the needs of business owners or the needs of the community. Instead, they need to identify and sell the clear and undeniable consumer benefits of buying from the specific businesses in the local area.
While local economic impact will be the outcome of a successful effort (and the justification for the use of public dollars), it is definitely not the motivation of the primary audience of the campaign (local consumers). Community pride is important, yes. Supporting local businesses is a good thing, no doubt. But these messages should be secondary. They should reinforce purchasing decisions, not drive them. Consumers buy value.
Shop Local campaigns should be about identifying and promoting the specific differentiated value of each of the specific businesses in your area. Then the social and collective idea of “supporting small businesses” can be a bonus.
Differentiation
To be successful in business is to put forward and deliver a clear value proposition. A value proposition is built on a specific differentiation. No business can be all things to all people. Successful businesses focus on being great at something specific. Then the marketplace knows what they are and when they are the best option (and for whom).
For example, everyone knows the difference between Walmart and Tiffany. They both sell jewelry, but they are very different. There are people who shop at one and not the other, and there are people who shop at both. But everyone understands the difference. They are not competitors. Walmart sells selection, convenience, and price. Tiffany sells status, experience, and luxury.
When Target hit the scene, it was unclear how they would differentiate from Walmart. They also focus on selection, convenience, and price. But they managed to differentiate themselves masterfully from Walmart by being a level-up version. Target is the wealthier Walmart. Regardless of where you shop, everyone understands the difference between Walmart and Target. We all understand when to go to Target and when to go to Walmart. This differentiation is good for consumers, and it’s good for the businesses as well. Each has its own space in which to thrive.
I live in York, SC, where the grocery store options are limited. We have two Food Lions, a Walmart, and a handful of Dollar Generals. Then, on the other extreme, we have a wonderful farm-to-retail store called Black’s Peaches. The Black family has farmed the same land since the late 1700s, and they’ve had a retail spot there since the 1920s. They have a great little restaurant and ice cream parlor. They have hay rides and pick-your-own events. They carry products from small farms all over the county and beyond. It’s a great spot. Similarly, we have Bush-n-Vine, another local farm-to-grocery on the edge of town. And we have others too. We have a thriving ecosystem of small farms all over the western side of the county.
Black’s Peaches and their peers are in a fundamentally different category than Food Lion. That doesn’t mean that one is good and one is bad. It means that each has value for different reasons. Black’s tastes better (the fruit and lettuce literally taste WAY better), it’s safer (less processed, fewer chemicals), and it’s more pleasant (with relationships, experience, and entertainment). It’s experientially better. A wonderful thing to do on a Saturday is to head out to Black’s Peaches. Have lunch, get ice cream, hunt through the produce and honeys, and fill a basket with food you can’t wait to share with your friends and family. Nobody would ever say that about a Food Lion. That’s not meant to be an insult to Food Lion. Big box grocery stores serve a specific purpose. We all know when and why we will go in one.
Differentiation is about understanding, sharpening, and articulating the specific value proposition that you offer in the context of the market. There is no characteristic that is inherently better than another. Big is not inherently better than small. Cheap is not inherently better than expensive. Fast is not inherently better than slow. It all depends on the context and framing. In weakness strength, strength weakness.
Small local businesses must create a categorical differentiation that demonstrates a different type of value that the consumer gets from the local purchase experience. This is not a temporary reality or specific promotion, but a fundamental difference that makes a particular small and local business a BETTER option sometimes, for some people, and on some occasions. Winning businesses do not simply compete harder. They position uniquely. They reframe the context to make their value the clearly superior option in some cases to some people. And they acknowledge and embrace that other options are better sometimes for some people, as well. I doubt Black’s Peaches would claim that you should buy your toilet paper and household cleaners from them (I don’t think they even sell such items). But if you want a cantaloupe that tastes like heaven (and not just water), then you should go to Black’s during cantaloupe season.
If your local small businesses can each develop a clear value proposition through differentiation, then your Shop Local efforts should be simply about showcasing and amplifying these clear messages.
Discovery
Another flaw of many Shop Local campaigns is that they group small businesses together into one concept – small businesses or local businesses. Then they ask the local consumer to “support local businesses” in a general way. That’s an abstract thing to support. It’s like saying Stop Global Warming or Save the Whales. It feels big, unwieldy, and disconnected to the personal experience. Yet, when someone sees that a new local restaurant has opened in their town, they check it out because it seems interesting (that specific restaurant). They don’t check it out to Support Local Business. That may be a secondary motivation or bonus, but their primary motivation is discovery and exploration of something new and interesting.
A good Shop Local campaign should be built on discovery. Once the businesses have clearly differentiated value propositions, then the work of the marketing initiative is to create the opportunity for local people to discover those businesses. Discovery is exciting. It’s fun. It’s compelling. It’s not about social obligation. It’s about interest and intrigue. Discovery is built on specifics. You can’t discover the general concept of small businesses. But you can discover a specific small business, like Black’s Peaches. Specificity is compelling and the key to overall success.
Consistency
Shop Local campaigns usually take place during national small business month. Or they are seasonal according to some calendar that coordinates with national efforts. This type of occasional focus will never yield permanent results.
To truly have a lasting impact on local consumer behavior, the effort can’t be a Hallmark-esque slogan that runs during some Hallmark-esque time period. Instead, the effort must be a consistent initiative that runs year round. That’s why any such effort should be an initiative and not a campaign. There should be permanent components (like websites and other tools). There should be events scheduled throughout the year. There should be continuing coaching for small businesses to develop and articulate differentiated value. And there should be consistent marketing, promotions, and communications on a weekly, even daily, basis.
Solution
Instead of a Shop Local Campaign, consider developing a Discover Local Initiative. The goal of a successful Discover Local initiative should be to create lasting impact on local consumer behavior.
An effective Discover Local initiative serves to:
- Help local businesses each develop and articulate a clear differentiation and value proposition.
- Promote those differentiated value propositions to the local public through a strategy of discovery marketing.
- Develop and manage permanent tools and a promotional effort for year-round consistency in marketing.
(If you need help with any of this, let me know. I’m happy to discuss. – Jason Broadwater)
To design and implement a successful Discover Local initiative, download our free Seven-Step Playbook for a Successful Discover Local Initiative.