For many of us, the world shrank during the pandemic: a lot less travel and a lot more time spent at, or close to, home. As a result, we’ve rarely been more aware of the role that smaller, local businesses play in our communities — and can play in our daily lives. Many of those local businesses have been facing an existential threat without the foot traffic that they’ve depended on. Those who survived have often needed the conscious support of their neighborhoods to get through — and they’ll need it just as much as we recover
It’s a sad truth that of the millions of small businesses that were forced to close temporarily at the start of the pandemic, nearly 100,000 in the U.S. had shuttered their doors for good by the end of September 2020. Every one of these closures is a personal tragedy for those involved, but it’s also much more than that. The experiences of the last 18 months have reminded us what smaller businesses provide that large, established, nationwide alternatives can’t — or won’t. If we really value the experiences they create, then we need to act now to ensure they’re there to keep creating them. The Real Value Of Your Neighborhood Business
Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, representing nearly 50% of U.S. GDP. However, looking at their importance in these abstract, collective terms misses what really makes them special at a community level. Local businesses play a vital role in economic inclusion. They are often the only ones willing to operate in smaller communities where the cost-benefit analysis doesn’t add up for larger brands interested in scale. And because local businesses don’t make every decision based on scalability, they are often more willing to innovate around the needs of their specific customers. They’re flexible, responsive and care very deeply about customer experience.
For many of us, the world shrank during the pandemic: a lot less travel and a lot more time spent at, or close to, home. As a result, we’ve rarely been more aware of the role that smaller, local businesses play in our communities — and can play in our daily lives. Many of those local businesses have been facing an existential threat without the foot traffic that they’ve depended on. Those who survived have often needed the conscious support of their neighborhoods to get through — and they’ll need it just as much as we recover
It’s a sad truth that of the millions of small businesses that were forced to close temporarily at the start of the pandemic, nearly 100,000 in the U.S. had shuttered their doors for good by the end of September 2020. Every one of these closures is a personal tragedy for those involved, but it’s also much more than that. The experiences of the last 18 months have reminded us what smaller businesses provide that large, established, nationwide alternatives can’t — or won’t. If we really value the experiences they create, then we need to act now to ensure they’re there to keep creating them.
The Real Value Of Your Neighborhood Business
Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, representing nearly 50% of U.S. GDP. However, looking at their importance in these abstract, collective terms misses what really makes them special at a community level. Local businesses play a vital role in economic inclusion. They are often the only ones willing to operate in smaller communities where the cost-benefit analysis doesn’t add up for larger brands interested in scale. And because local businesses don’t make every decision based on scalability, they are often more willing to innovate around the needs of their specific customers. They’re flexible, responsive and care very deeply about customer experience.
We’ve seen this in the way many smaller businesses have responded to pandemic constraints. We’ve seen a huge increase in the number using automations to provide customers with flexibility. They’ve come up with imaginative solutions to book appointments and order pick-ups or deliveries. They’ve reinvented the way they operate to ensure that customers feel comfortable and safe. They’ve stepped in when larger organizations have struggled with capacity, leveraged their proximity to offer convenience, gone many extra miles and provided much-needed human connection along the way.
As a business owner, I like working with local and smaller businesses because they know how to reach niche audiences. There are marketing agencies that only work with Chicago-based companies, like mine. Others only work with women-owned businesses or other affinity groups. This specialty keeps these vendors smaller than their competitors, but it also means they have a unique level of expertise in working with a company or reaching a particular audience. My company works with businesses of all sizes, ranging from solopreneurs to the world’s largest enterprises, but I’ve noticed that the smallest businesses are still underserved.
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