Supply, Demand, and Supporting Small Businesses
An important piece for our economy
There is an absurd paradox that arises when supporting small and local businesses. The consumer community quickly tells each other how much appreciation they have for entrepreneurs and small business owners and how proud they are of individuals who start and run their businesses. In the end, it is those very same people who don’t support these businesses by buying their products. Brick-and-mortar stores see more repeated volume from consumers within their niche. Still, there is a shortage for those running their businesses wto generaterevenue from new customers. Several factors contribute to this disparity, and I will explore a few in this article.
PRICE
Price is indeed a significant factor for consumers. It doesn’t necessarily affect just small and independent business owners who, for this article, I will abbreviate as SMEs (Small to Medium Businesses) and IBOs. Although SMEs are a separate category, this paper combines everyone below large, big businesses and corporations into SMEs and IBOs.
Supply and demand heavily influence pricing structures. In addition, the methods of obtaining products also impact prices. For IBOs, they may have higher fees than your Walmart and Target, but they also carry far superior products and have more concentrated selections. As a consumer, you pay more, but what you get for the price is more than what you get from other options.
A tumultuous economy like the one we have right now should worry everyone with all its uncertainties. What’s fantastic is that, in uncertain times, you should be looking for better products that last twice as long as they do now. It may not be as readily available as your big-box retailers. However, the distance you can cover with better and more concentrated products will far outweigh the cost.
AVAILABILITY
Product availability is another important factor for consumers. Customers have the power to choose where to shop in various ways. One of the essential factors is brand recognition and branding. We place a lot of value on where we shop, and we sometimes get strange looks when we tell people where we shop because they may not like those places. Accordingly, if we say, “We only shop at Target/Walmart,” you will get different responses depending on the other person’s preference. Other brands are no exception, like Nike and Under Armor. Next time you are in a conversation about where you shop, observe how the other person reacts. It will be subtle, but it’s worth watching how it works in practice.
SME’s or IBO’s are not always impacted by this, as they generate revenue through direct sales. For IBOs, this is far more difficult, especially when others are numb to the “sales pitch.” This perspective puzzles me the most. We are apprehensive of salespeople walking up to us and trying to sell us their products, even though we want to support small businesses. But we will readily spend our gas, time, and energy to help large corporations that may not hold the values we want, but BY GOLLY, they have the soap I want!
PRODUCT DEMAND
We are all fickle when it comes to what we want at any given moment. It is also why our spending habits are so inconsistent. SMEs and IBOs have similar issues. The changes in consumer habits and the swings in demand can be overwhelming. SMEs and IBOs in our society are adversely affected by this as consumers are not aware that they are doing it. Additionally, we can overcome this problem if IBOs and SMEs do their best to ensure that their products consistently provide value to their customers. Follow-up is crucial!
It will take time for the demand for the products to shift towards SMEs and independent businesses. However, I believe that people want and demand better products. However, it is up to the SMEs and IBOs to go out and create new opportunities for their customers to experience their effects.
HOW TO CREATE MORE VALUE FOR SME AND IBO CONSUMERS
We need to realize that we mistakingly believe that these products are inferior to those in stores. Compared to reliable, unbiased data, we cannot substantiate it for the products in retail stores being superior to those sold by SMEs and IBOs. Both socially and economically, marketing targets unaware consumers to purchase products from local individuals. Your friends can influence you away from products that are better for you. These individuals may not have even tried the products but tell you what they believe from an uneducated and untested position. The hearsay spread by inexperienced people is a formidable barrier for SMEs and IBO’s.
It is up to us as consumers to counter this nonsense. We must educate ourselves better about the products we buy. We need to know where to diversify our spending to support local businesses. Supporting brick-and-mortar businesses isn’t the only concern here. Yes, they are great too, but we all know those individuals are working hard to start new businesses. Nobody is born an entrepreneur. It is imperative that we, as consumers, proactively support all local business owners, brick-and-mortar, and online entrepreneurs.
Please allow them to demonstrate products to you. Ask them to educate you about the products. Ask them for samples. Please be open to someone working hard to create something from nothing in whatever way they can. Those IBOs who use another brand to build their businesses are also LEARNING about business as they do so, which is much more valuable than taking classes on business. They need to learn about marketing, advertising, sales, pitches, inventory, and all other things that come with owning a business. They just chose not to hold stock. Honestly, it’s WAY nicer for those who can’t afford to do that.
The same holds for those who want to start their brand on Etsy. Etsy has gotten a lot of attention (I am a regular consumer, and all content creators are excellent! ), but we shouldn’t overlook the others in business who also deserve attention. We all need to do more to redirect some of our spending towards SMEs and IBOs, and it only serves to make our business economy even stronger than before!
