Is It a Buzzword or Just Good Business Practice?

Call it a trend, if you will. Wherever you live, you’ve likely heard the phrase. “Buy local” is the mantra of the day as we near the end of 2016. You hear it bandied about from boardrooms to back rooms. But do companies that spout the mantra on a daily basis really practice what they preach?

And though you may espouse the principles, are you willing to sometimes pay a little more for the honor of buying local? Do local vendors get extra points when you put out a Request for Proposals (RFPs)? And how well do you search your local area in support of local vendors?

These questions, and many more like them, represent an interesting exploration for business owners of small and large companies alike. Each question demands an honest answer if you want to join the buy local movement. Keep in mind another common mantra that has ruled the world for centuries: “What goes around comes around.” If you expect to be given consideration for being local, then you must take even greater pains to buy local.

Why Bother

First of all, buying local means that more money stays in the local economy, so more resources are spread around to local businesses — very likely, yours too. Local employment benefits when you choose to buy a locally produced product or service instead of buying a cheaper version online or from a big box store.

If you love your town and cherish your way of life, the only way to sustain that environment is to support local business. The influx of major retailers, for example, is what led to the many downtown ghost towns that dot the country today. And finally, when down times hit, as surely they will, your town and your business are more likely to withstand a recessive economy if the biggest portion of your resources circulates locally.

Hold Them Accountable

While individuals often make substantial sacrifices to support local businesses, the buy local movement also should embrace a cadre of monitors to call out those companies who espouse the practice, but don’t put it into effect behind closed doors.

Questions to ask your boss, your local Chamber of Commerce and your city leaders:

• Who did your most recent marketing plan/survey/business analysis?
• How many employees have you hired outside of the local area?
• Who writes your website content?
• Where is your advertising/payroll/recruiting firm located?
• Where do you take clients for lunch?
• Who created your signs/graphics/logo?

The questions could go on and on; the point is that if you don’t hold your employers, professional business organizations and municipal leaders accountable, they can just continue with the front-end image-making nonsense that they spew to get attention for being “good corporate citizens.” And all the while, they can carry out their business-as-usual RFPs that give local vendors no chance to compete.

Give Them Accolades

At the same time, if you ask your professional colleagues those same questions and you get positive, truly common-sense answers that show how they buy local whenever possible, give them loud kudos. As an advocate for the local economy, it behooves you to call out the hypocrites and congratulate the true visionaries who practice what they preach.

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