PITTSBURG, Kan. —
State sales tax is up 1 percent. The economy is a challenge. Shoppers are conservative.
And, according to Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce President Blake Benson, they’re pickier about where they spend their money.
But officials have stated that, what with dwindling state revenues, not shopping locally could mean even greater budget problems than what we have faced to date.
Meanwhile, Pittsburg’s small-business owners have long known they can’t always compete with larger stores in terms of cost.
All of this adds up to cause for concern.
But it needn’t be, so long as small business owners follow two basic tenets of good business — tenets mentioned time and time again by local shoppers, according to chamber officials and local business owners.
Because now more than ever before, in the days of Internet shopping and a 30-minute drive east to a lower sales tax and often greater availability, to do anything less would mean certain death.
Tenet 1: Products
Offer products and services that customers actually want and need. If it’s hunting season and a box of shotgun shells isn’t available in Pittsburg, the only option is to look to the World Wide Web or head to the next largest town.
Stock more than one of an item and in several sizes. Dust them occasionally. Display them attractively.
If a customer comes to the store and inquires if you sell something she’s looking for, don’t shrug and say, “No, sorry, we don’t.”
Do not send a customer to a large superstore to find it instead (yes, this actually has happened). Offer, “We don’t have one in stock, but I certainly could order that for you and have it here in three days. I’ll call you when it comes in. What color would you like?”
A great local example: Ron Rhodes, owner of Ron’s Supermarket, is willing to stock new or unique grocery items upon customer request. It's no surprise his store and payroll have grown.
Explained Benson: Successful business owners show a natural willingness to change, to adapt and keep their image fresh, and don't expect customers to conform to their way of doing business.
Tenet 2: Service
Don’t give worse customer service than an online company. You’ll lose your customers and they’ll never come back.
If a shopper can get the product they want for a reasonable price without having to leave home, then they won’t. Especially when excellent service is thrown in at no charge.
Benson even went so far as to say that customers consistently show that they’re sometimes willing to pay a little more to get personalized service, and that’s something that — believe it or not — online companies are starting to offer.
Case in point: A local shopper ordered an item unavailable in Pittsburg from a mail-order company in Seattle, but a quick check by the company representative found the item wasn’t in stock. That company representative knew the item was available at a dealer in a town 30 minutes away, made a call, had someone drive it to him, boxed it up and shipped it out that day with a guarantee of free return shipping if the item didn’t work.
A great local example: Ask any of Jim Martino’s staff at the Mall Deli to substitute an item or prepare a sandwich a certain way, and the answer is always, always, “Sure, we can do that.” It's no surprise there's a line at lunch and suppertime.
In sum, there probably is a list twice this long of to-dos and not-to-dos that Harvard-educated business and marketing experts could generate. But everyday customers can at least come up with this: We know what we want and how we want to be treated.
Meet both those needs, and we’ll shop local for life.
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