CHAMBER CHAT |
| CHAMBER CHAT Issue #1 Marketing Steering Committee “The objective of the Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce is to promote the commercial welfare of the Lowell area, making the area a desirable location for capital investment and residence, also to promote the quality of life and harmony among the business and residential communities.” With that objective in mind, we would like to examine the importance of shopping locally. Hopefully we can supply you with the necessary motivation to spend as much of your shopping dollars with locally owned businesses as you can. For the purposes of this article lets define “shopping” to include any spending or investing you do with your hard earned money whether it is at a retail store or restaurant, or when you need the services of a local professional. Shopping locally is spending locally, okay? There are some very practical reasons for you to invest in your community whenever it is possible. For instance, if you have children who attend Lowell schools you might be interested to know that businesses pay four times the tax that homeowners do (24mils vs 6 mils) to help fund the schools. Hopefully business owners recognize this extra percentage as an investment in the community. This demonstrates how a community is supposed to work in that healthy businesses have the money to give back to the community through taxes, sponsorships, and outright philanthropy. Andersonville is a north side neighborhood in Chicago. Their Chamber of Commerce hired a firm to do an economic study into the impact of local businesses vs. their chain competitors. (The entire report is available online at www.AndersonvilleStudy.com.) Here are some interesting things the study revealed. For every $100 in consumer spending at a local firm $68 remains in the local economy. The same $100 spent with a chain firm resulted in only $43 remaining in the local economy. That means 58% MORE of the money stayed around and further boosted the local economy. You must bear in mind that this comparison is between a chain firm and a local firm with locations in the same city. If you do your “shopping” in Grand Rapids, then the Lowell area receives ZIPPO economically. We can hear some of you saying, “But I can’t find everything I want in Lowell.” Our first response to that is to ask if you have checked out what is available in Lowell lately. New shops are being opened and services are being made available here constantly. Another thing to remember is that the small “mom and pop” stores have the flexibility and the motivation to special order items for their customers. We are aware of many Lowell businesses that have expanded their goods and services in just the last few months in an effort to give customers and potential customers what they want. If enough customers request an item or a service, then there is a good chance it will happen. The next time you are “shopping”, please remember that the money you invest in the local economy stays here and benefits more people than you might think. Cliff Yankovich Marketing Steering Committee, Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce |