As consumers, we are constantly being bombarded with messages specifically designed to compel us to spend our money in a certain way. The problem with this is that all too often, we don’t consider how our personal spending decisions will affect our community and our local economy. We have the power to choose where and how we spend our hard earned money, and with great power comes great responsibility. In this case, it is our responsibility to be cognizant of whom we choose to do business with, and to make a concerted effort whenever possible to spend our money in a way that will do the greatest good and will maximize each dollar.
We all know you can find just about anything on the Internet, but there are some things you lose out on when you purchase items on the first website that pops up in response to your search. Most importantly, you lose the ability to benefit from your money in the long run, as money spent locally stays in the community and has the potential to recirculate many times over. Local ownership also ensures that decisions that affect our community are made by the people who actually live in the community and who will feel the impacts of those decisions personally.
Supporting our local economy is not something that can be achieved without a collective effort from everyone who is a part of our community. Brett Boyer, CEO & Co-Founder of Center Sphere, a local networking organization that promotes and supports local business professionals and the growth of the local economy, explains, “It is very important to support local businesses in all you do! You will find that the majority of the reasons people seek out companies elsewhere is because of pricing. The reason some businesses are priced out of the market is because there hasn’t been enough support locally. If we all support these business, this will in turn drive down local pricing structures and increase everyone’s bottom line! Isn’t that the goal in business?
Furthermore, you can almost always find anything you are looking for in the local business arena. By supporting locally, everyone benefits! The more business you do locally the more that you are creating your own economy and infrastructure. When there are hard times nationally, and even globally, the support for area businesses can stand on this economy they have created by simply supporting one another! I feel that we are very blessed in Omaha and surrounding cities to have the best of the best in any business nationwide! We are a very innovative people and have proven this time and time again, and will continue to do so.”
Daryl Decker, owner and President of PrintOvations, adds, “Buying locally supports all of our friends, family and neighbors. When buying local, not only are those tax dollars staying in the local area, but you’re keeping local people employed and investing in our community. When making a local purchase, those dollars are then re-invested back into our community, helping to strengthen our local economy, lower taxes and create jobs. It’s really a win-win for everyone in the community. Conversely, money spent at online retailers or national chains only helps those far-off companies and their shareholders. When buying locally, that money stays in our community and is spent again at other local businesses and continues to circulate within our local economy, creating a multiplier effect that benefits everyone.
In the print industry, there is a lot of competition from both national providers and internet sites. What separates PrintOvations is our pricing and customer service models. We offer internet-based pricing, but with outstanding local service. We know prospective clients will compare our pricing to those on the internet, so we make sure our pricing is comparable or lower than the prices on those sites. Once people see that our pricing truly is a bargain, we reinforce this value by providing world-class customer service. Our philosophy is to operate with a lower profit margin, but to keep a happy customer for the next 10-20 years. Our goal is that 100% of our customers are happy with the quality and prices that we offer, and as a result, loyal!”
When you buy local, not only are you supporting a member of your community that took the risk to open a business, but the money stays local. Linda Cummings, owner of Vine + Branch, also speaks to the significance of this cycle. “Keeping our money circulating within our community is a win-win for everyone. It allows business owners the satisfaction of being able to provide a high quality product, the means to employ more local residents, and just as important, supports entrepreneurs in their unique endeavors. At Vine + Branch, we take great pride in offering the Omaha community high quality products, including our selection of balsamics, oils, and wines, and a high level of personalized customer service from our very knowledgeable sales staff.”
Local businesses truly do have the best interests of their community in mind, as they are an important part of it, and value each customer that walks through their doors. Kim Ahlers, owner of Kajoma’s Boutique, says, “It’s no secret that I’m definitely a huge supporter of shopping local. There’s nothing like those personal touches you receive when doing business with small, local businesses—from quality customer service to the shop owners knowing you by name. You just can’t get that when you shop online. And for small business owners, it’s our passion to serve our community while doing what we love. We want our customers to be happy with their purchase, and to tell everyone they know about their amazing experience. The support of our customers and our community is crucial to our success. Making an effort to support local businesses is fundamental to the livelihood of so many people that you know—your neighbors, friends, family, mutual acquaintances, and those whose goal is to make our city’s economy flourish.”
In line with keeping our money local where it can benefit us the most, utilizing a local bank is a must. Premier Bank, established in November 2011, is locally owned and led by Chairman Greg Stine, President & CEO Chris Maher and Executive Vice President Todd Clevenger, all of who reside in Omaha. Holly Jochims of Premier Bank, states, “We pride ourselves on providing outstanding personal service. When you contact us, you will never be greeted by a recording – only a friendly voice – usually from our Receptionist Marilou who is ready to assist you.
In addition to being a full service bank, we also have a Mortgage Department who is ready to assist you with buying your home or refinancing your mortgage. In the last year alone, our team–Andy Herald and Gregg Bailey–closed all of our home loans on or before the requested closing date. So each family we helped moved into or refinanced their home without any unnecessary delay. We were able to do this because all lending decisions are made within our main location at 168th & Dodge Street. No underwriting from across the globe is needed when you bank locally.
We are committed to providing business, personal and lending products designed to enable businesses and consumers to better manage their money, build and preserve wealth, finance purchases and grow businesses more successfully and profitably. For more information and to see the many friendly faces of Premier Bank, visit our website at www.premierbankne.com.”
Ordering items online based solely on price, and sight unseen with regards to the products you are purchasing as well as the company you are working with, can pose a variety of problems. Getting a bargain on a sub-standard product is not a good value!
Wade Lewis, owner of Corporate Creations says, “Forming a personal relationship is important in our line of work. We have been in business since 1995 and have a lot of experience in custom imprinted products that our customers can benefit from. We ask our customers a lot of questions in order to offer advice or to recommend the perfect promotional items to meet their needs. We also have a strong desire to protect our local reputation by making our customers happy. Our goal is not the sale but the relationship—we believe that happy customers will not only bring return business but will help our company to grow through referrals.
Custom printed products require many job elements to come together seamlessly for a successful outcome. The work we do for our clients is definitely not something you can pick up directly off the shelf. Many production elements must come together in concert to ensure quality. Finding the client the right product for their event, creating the art in the correct format, quality product printing, imprint location and proper sizing, as well as meeting the customer’s in-hands dates, are just some of the pitfalls commonly missed by the absence of personal contact. We feel that our customers deserve an advocate who follows the progress of the order from start to finish, ensuring that everything works out as expected.”
Lewis provided a recent example of an online purchase gone wrong:
“We recently received a call from a person who had ordered 500 custom drinkware pieces imprinted with their company’s logo from an online firm based out of state. They told us that the online price looked almost too good to be true. It was. After three weeks of not being able to get a status update on their order via email, the consumer made a call to the online company to check on how their order was coming along. The phone number listed was no longer in service and after looking into this matter, they found that the online company had gone out of business even before their order was placed. It’s been over 8 months and they are still trying to recover their money.
If you ask consumers whether they value doing business locally, I would guess the majority of respondents would say ‘yes.’ The success and longevity of a local business relies on the consumers support through their buying habits. Consumers vote with their wallets with every purchase they make and in turn, have the fate of local vendors in their hands. We love doing business locally because helping people in our community is our passion. It’s a win-win when we can do what we love and give back too.”
Michelle Christensen, owner of Papillion Windows and Siding, echoes the importance of personal interaction with customers. She says, “In my experience, customers like getting to know myself and my employees as local representatives of our company. Likewise, as a business owner I take great pride in getting to know my customers’ personal preferences in products and design, as well as giving them personal customer service. Customers love being able to get in touch with the owner instead of dealing with company reps out of town. Furthermore, customer service issues can be resolved quickly and without going through numerous levels of management to get a decision. If a homeowner chooses a non-local company, many times the company performs the work and then disappears to other cities, making it difficult for a homeowner to obtain service if and when it is needed. It’s important that the local community support their local businesses whenever possible. It’s also much easier for a local company to provide local references to customers as requested since many times we deal with homeowners on a personal level versus a national company dealing with customers all over the country with very little personal interaction.”
We encourage everyone to be aware of where and how they are spending their hard earned money and to continue to buy local—there are SO many wonderful local businesses and organizations that are worthy of our continued support! Not to mention we all benefit from keeping our money in our community where it can do the most good for us in so many different ways.