Wrapped in the Chick-fil-A controversy is a warning to small business owners.
It’s not about free speech (you can say whatever you want). Nor is it about the wisdom of a dose of self-censorship (just because you can say it doesn’t mean you should). And I’m certainly not wading into the underlying discussion here–though I do have strong feelings on that topic.
You can’t build goodwill after the fact.
I was chatting on Twitter with David Huzzard and Matthew Dávila about all the conversation around Chick-fil-A, when Dávila said:
“People don’t seem to realize a boycott hurts small business owners, not Chick-fil-A.”
Well, of course it hurts both–but his point is well taken. So what’s a franchisee to do when a CEO creates a mess that threatens your livelihood?
You need customers and community.
Your franchise is your small business. If you’ve built local relationships with customers, then you have a starting point of differentiation. If you’ve been donating and sponsoring strategically, then you’re respected for being a good guy (or gal) in your community. Similarly, if you’ve been using social media wisely, then you have a community that has connected with you and each other–and another place to make the point that you’re not that guy.
I’m very loyal to businesses that remember me, whether it’s a franchise owner who chats with his customers, wait staff who’ve been somewhere for years, beer vendors who know your name, or a mechanic who consistently gives great service.
Chick-fil-A’s franchisees have work to do. How much depends on where they’re starting from.
Photo by Tony Fischer Photography (Flickr).
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
In my opinion, boycott hurts a large business too. Just that we are not able to view the effects immediately because of the size of large business compared to that on a small business which would be tremendously affected.
In today’s time, it is just impossible to behave the way that business did and get a great review. People are becoming more open minded and they will at least think about someone or something even they don’t agree with way they are. I am seeing this change in highly conservative societies too. It is a good thing and I hope business understand that doing things that are considered intolerant would make them less-loved and admired.
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Hi Ashvini,
I completely agree (and that’s kind of the point of a boycott, isn’t it?). I think it’s not even so much that people are becoming more open-minded; it’s also that we, as consumers, typically have more choices (both offline and on).
There’s an online poll that always throws in a question about whether you have opted not to do business with a company because of their policies (forget exactly how it is worded). I always laugh, because the “shortest” time frame option is one year. I’m always making choices about how I will do business with–because I can.
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