On Protectionism

A recent headline in the Christian Science Monitor informed its readers that a city in Tuscany had declared a “ban on foreign flavors.” In light of the current global economic crisis, a story about some Italian City Council banning non-native cuisine leaves a slightly odd taste in my mouth. And on the surface it might fall into the online category of ‘strange news’ but the story does highlight an all too familiar reaction to tough economic times; protectionism.

Last year as I worked the Worth A Dam booth at the Thursday’s Farmer’s Market I witnessed an example of this. I was usually on the corner of Escobar and Court, right across from the kettle corn guy and a barbeque vendor. I could hear bits of conversations going on around me and apparently there was a time when the barbeque tent wasn’t at the market. Based on the excited chatter from the county workers this particular vendor was missed. I don’t know the whole story behind the absence but I can say there was a lot of bad pr circulating because of it.

Protectionism might work in certain instances when the businesses and services being protected meet consumer needs, at a fair price. But often it is exactly those consumer needs that are being ignored; as was the case with those lunchtime customers who liked this particular vendor.

If manipulating consumer habits was as easy as limiting their choices, then people like me wouldn’t drive the thirty six miles to San Francisco, plunk five dollars in quarters into a meter, (there a quarter will get you six minutes) just to go someplace different. Choice isn’t a bad thing and parking meters aren’t deterrents to motivated consumers.

A buzz is being generated about how to market downtown. Two ideas have been floated, one is businesses pool their resources to buy advertising, another was the City should pay (and by City they meant taxpayers) for that advertising. Of the two ideas, the pooling of resources is entirely plausible. Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted saying, “build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door,” you can finish that up with “all others need to advertise.”

But newspaper and radio ads are just some of the ways consumers learn about a business. Another is how a business projects itself onto the consuming public. What do visitors see when they’re downtown? The empty store fronts along Main Street are bad enough, and I suppose a business case could be made for the advertising slogan, “our stuff is as old as dirt and we’ve got the cobwebs to prove it!” but I doubt it.

Someone asked for ideas, well here’s a few: wash windows, get creative with displays and change them – often, backlight/spotlight and when there are special events going on in town, get involved, be proactive and go after the business by handing out cards or coupons, give our guests a reason to come back.

Protectionism insulates bad and/or outdated business practices and removes the customer from the equation; last time I checked those customers were already in short supply.