Dan Feldman of DBA Designs asked on his Marketing Forum whether or not eyecare professionals should take a stand in their office. Over the years, there have been many issues: online refractions, mobile refractions, cost controls, Affordable Care Act, vaccines, indie business, one bathrooms, transgender and gay, insurance programs, whether or not you use ‘Christmas’ in your marketing, whether you want to be open on the Sabbath or Sunday, what holidays you choose to be open. All of these are choices that you either make due to business or personal decisions.
We as consumers and the public, we as business owners have choices and the easiest way or choice to make is take a stand with your dollars. It doesn’t mean that you have to advertise the fact that you are anti-Monsanto, it means you stop purchasing Monsanto -Bayer products. (Pesticides) If you like chocolate, you don’t have to offer Hershey’s Kisses to your patients (Child-Slavery). If you choose not to be open on Black Friday, you can join REI and #optout and tell the world you want your staff to enjoy Family Time. If you are traveling, if a Democrat, stay at Hyatt, if Republican, stay at Marriott. If you sick of Starbucks and their refusal to change their cups #bettercup. Hashtags such as #BoycottStarbucks and #GrabYourWallet, #supportlocal, are increasingly being used.
Is taking a stand important to your patients? Depends on your patients and who you are trying to reach. According to a YouGov survey:
50% of Millennials (18-34) approving of brands taking a public stance on social vs 25% of Baby Boomers (55+) and 41% of Gen Xers (35-55) think that taking a stand is OK.
What Stands Are Important?
Going Green (Social Responsibility) is good for business. 59% of Millennials believe doing good for the environment is still good for business in 2017.
The reality is businesses are there to make a profit, they provide jobs and keep the economy going. Some political opinions should be kept out of the office and away from patients. One must respect diversity of opinions as we live in a FREE country. Each of us can make personal choices on who, what and how we choose to run our business, who we choose to support and who we choose to share our opinions with. Think carefully about the causes you support. If you commit to a cause, stay with it.
Bottom Line: Taking a stand in Social Issues is growing. 58% of all Americans have gone out of their way to not buy something from a company whose values do not match their own. As business owners it will become increasingly more important to take stance in your practice. Personally, I like it when companies state their political agendas, I know who to support and who not to support, I like to Vote with my Dollars.
Resources
- In A Hyper- Politicized World Should Brands Take a Stand?
- You Gov: Taking a Stand
- Should Brands Take Public Stances on Social Issues? Consumers Weigh In. – MarketingCharts
- Two-thirds of US adults support boycotting brands over politics – YouGov
- Which Brand Attributes Matter Most to Millennials? – MarketingCharts
- Risi Optique: Buy Independent
- Heritage Eyecare: Why Buy Local
- Kremer Eye Center: How Important is Internet Eyewear Sales
