Independent retailers outpace chains in 4Q 2008 with Buy Local campaigns

At last-—good news.  According to a national survey by the Institute for Self Reliance, independent retailers out-performed chain stores in 4Q 2008. The linchpin that garnered success? Well organized Buy Local campaigns.

While I have yet to see an internet-based BL program that delivers in financial terms, I firmly believe that grass roots programs utilizing local media, partnerships (financial and marketing) with local Chambers of Commerce, and groups of neighborhood retailers pulling together as one are home runs the majority of the time.

A good example of this comes from The Healdsburg Retailers-—Retailer Excellence Award winners in the Marketing category last August. This group of five local store owners decided that thinking like a single company as opposed to five small businesses was the strategy to follow. Their investment focused not only on marketing, but overall mindset, both for their stores and themselves. With the help of a professional coach they were able to build a unified plan and polished campaign that raised the individual stores’ visibility while garnering support from the local City Council…to the tune of $30,000 donated to help further promote Healdsburg as a shopping destination.

This isn’t pie in the sky stuff, folks. While it’s probably going to be difficult to replicate the financial component of what these five retailers did, it isn’t impossible. Many communities are run by leaders who recognize the critical importance of keeping their local business districts viable. Many communities have funds set aside for local development of their business districts. And many communities are on (surprisingly) firm financial ground, as demonstrated by two radio campaigns I heard while on the road in Nebraska during the holidays-—a part of the country that invested conservatively and, as a result, still experiences growth in housing, loans, and employment.

Check out the ISR report here, read the Gifts and Dec article about the Healdsburg Retailers here, then look around your neck of the woods. What nearby businesses-—not just retailers, but restaurants, service providers, etc.-—attract the same customers you do? Invite them to coffee, pull together, and start the ball rolling. At the very least, commit to networking with nearby business owners, as I suggested in an earlier post titled “2009: The Year of Quality without Complication.”

This is too important not to do. Now.