THINK.SHOP.BUY.LOCAL - Wanted: YOUR local shopping stories

In late May, in a blog followup to the ICFF show in NYC, I told you about LaDiff's involvement with a then-newish, still grass-roots effort called The 3/50 Project.

This project is all about supporting local, independently owned retail business through the simple act of spending $50/month in their stores. LaDiff quickly became a participant, a tout-er, and a rooftop shouter!

We also took the idea to our local Retail Merchants Association, who was then trying very hard... with very little budget... to develop a Shop Local/Buy Local campaign. Because this association has membership that includes franchise owners and local stores of larger chains, they were unable to endorse the 3/50 Project at the exclusion of other members. They did, however, sign up as a supporter of the project and also saw the powerful effect that *NUMBERS* have on people. Immediately, the RMA changed their approach.

A beautifully simple concept, backed by an entire community of retailers, their media partners and city supporters, and produced by the Retail Merchants Association was born:

THINK*SHOP*BUY*LOCAL

Just as with Cinda Baxter's extraordinarily quick progress with 3/50, the TSBL program grew legs quickly. A quick-to-meet joint session of the Marketing & Membership committees got the ball rolling. Next a talented web designer (shout out to Dana Matheny at ProDeuce Marketing!), a clever and creative radio crew, a quick-acting & pink-wearing newspaper ad woman, and an inspiring, tireless Association president and her team (shout out to Nancy Thomas and team!) helped take Think.Shop.Buy.Local from an inspired idea to a reality.

While this CAMPAIGN asks for retail involvement and support, what is different and more important is how it asks for COMMUNITY and CONSUMER support.

When you visit the website at www.retailmerchants.com/local, you-the-consumer can sign a pledge to support your local business first. You can also pick up a decal for your car with the TSBL logo emblazoned on it. We want to see these decals driving all over our beautiful city! The more there are, the more others will ask!

Will everyone be on board with the idea? Of course not.
There are always those who will abuse the privilege of walking into a local merchant, 'test-driving' the goods, then shop online without ever mentioning this betrayal to the merchant. Funny thing is... the more that activity happens, the less likely the chance that the merchant will be around to 'abuse' in future months. It's an interesting cycle...

Communication is important.
Retailers cannot live in a vacuum.
We need to be aware of our competition locally AND nationally, and we need to be prepared for the conversations about price matching and product availability.
Consumers, on the other hand, are realizing that the ability to touch, see, and learn about product in person is a highly valuable experience; that the ability to know the owner or manager of a store in person can be a benefit; that their local business respects and appreciates them as a person because they co-exist in the same community.

In the end, it comes back to the Think.Shop.Buy.Local tag line:
YOU make the community better with your decision.

So... now... I'd LOVE to hear YOUR favorite 'local merchant' stories. Why do you support them? What makes them different from an online or out of town option? Heck, these kinds of stories are so heartwarming and so real, that I'll probably want to offer them up for inclusion on the new Retail Merchants website!

Now... go forth, and Think.Shop.Buy..... LOCAL!