Doom is a terrible sales pitch.
I’ve been thinking about that when I see what’s happening to Toys ‘R’ Us. The former retail giant is closing all of its stores in America. In Canada there’s still hope it will stay alive, but right now the biggest threat to its business here is not online shopping or changing retail tastes, but instead the perception that the store is doomed, given that the American operations are dead in the water.
Doom is one of the factors that killed the American operations.
The business was dying not because toys don’t make money, but because the business was saddled with such a massive debt load that any downturn in profits at all would put it in danger of being unable to pay its creditors, thanks to a ridiculous take-over by Bain Capital, who does this kind of thing a lot. It wasn’t an overnight failure, but a series of bad decisions over a number of years that finally came to a head in 2017, and they had to close stores and restructure.
In the eyes of consumers, that instead meant that the company was soon to be dead. That killed their holiday season - when toy stores traditionally do their best business - because people thought that if they’re going to be dead anyway the after sales support is not going to exist and they won’t be able to exchange anything. The doom somehow convinced people that Toys ‘R’ Us was dead tomorrow. Nobody wants to buy from a store that’s dead tomorrow unless they’re getting a deep discount. They were effectively fighting rumors of their death, and lost.
Which brings me to some shop local campaigns.
Essentially, shopping local is good, and I do it myself. It’s better than going online for most things, especially in a town like Yorkton, because nobody has to ship anything and you’ve got your stuff immediately instead of in several weeks. After sales service is also better, as the owner of an unreliable watch I am nothing but pleased with the service the store I bought it from as delivered, and next time I buy a watch it will be from the same place - though from a different product line.
Many shop local campaigns have the undercurrent of doom, if we don’t shop local then all of these businesses will die, and then the community will die, and we will be in for a Mad Max-esque future with roving bands of nomads searching for gasoline in a barren wasteland.
Even if that’s true, that’s not a great way to get people into stores. People don’t like shopping at businesses that they believe are going under. Giving your campaign that desperate thrust makes people think that local businesses are dying, which will make them sad, but not prone to spending money.
Just look at Toys ‘R’ Us.
The focus needs to be on the advantages of local businesses rather than the horrors which could result if people don’t buy from them. People will spend money if they can see how the businesses will benefit them. They will feel bad if they think the local economy is suffering, but feeling bad is different from spending money, and ultimately doesn’t result in spending money.
The other focus needs to be on what people can buy at home, because there is that negative perceptions that people can’t get what they want in their community. That’s often not true, but that’s the real battle that shop local campaigns need to fight. People need to get out of the idea that they can’t shop local because the things they need don’t exist here. Doom won’t help that perception, because people will use a lack of product as that excuse. Focus on what these folks have to offer, get people through their doors and spending money.
Showcase what they have in store, not what’s in store if you don’t go into that store.
