Vote With Your Dollar

June 10th, 2009

by John R. Sedivy

bagofmoney As Americans we hold a great deal of power. I don’t mean power in an authoritative sense, but in more of an indirect sense. We have the unique ability to shape our surroundings through our actions. We hold a great deal of power as individuals. It only takes one to start a collective action.

Democracy & Capitalism
Consider both democracy and capitalism. Democracy, although far from perfect in our execution when compared to the ideals set forth by our founding fathers, is the envy of the world. This envy is due to the individual freedoms we enjoy and the ability to act as change agents should the need arise.

In addition to our democratic form of government, there are freedoms inherent to capitalism itself. If you have a bad experience with a product or service, you have the option to purchase another product or service, or move your business to another company. Or if the warning signs are apparent up front prior to making a purchase, you can save yourself the pain altogether.

The Power Of The Consumer
As an individual consumer, you have the power to create or destroy businesses. To strengthen or weaken. If you have a great experience, or something “clicks” when meeting with a potential supplier – you will likely empower this individual or company with your purchase. On the other hand, if the reverse occurs, and you have a bad experience, or warning signs are flashing, you lessen the power of the individual or business by taking your business elsewhere.

I refer to this process as “voting with your dollar.” Each purchase, or “vote” strengthens, and each lost sale, or “vote” weakens the position of an individual or business when compared to other candidates. It is essentially the same as a democratic election process.

Consider This
This may seem trivial when you consider your actions as an individual, but consider the collective ramifications. What if everyone voted with their dollars? What if each person, when they had a bad experience with a product or service, refused to become a repeat customer? What if they at that very moment in time, decided to search out an alternate provider more in line with what they were looking for?

Amy had an interesting experience that she passed on to me at lunch today. She was researching companies to handle credit card transactions for her wedding cake design business. In doing so she looked at a variety of companies, checking their reliability and ability to process payments from a variety of sources, their website and ease of use, and finally their customer service.

One vendor appeared to win over the rest. She had an initial conversation with the vendor, discussed the best solution for her business, and mentioned that she needed some time to consider her options. Within a 30 hour period the sales rep called back repeatedly – a total of six times with an attempt to close the sale. On top of that, a separate individual from the company also called to make sure the sales rep was ‘answering all of her questions’. After this occurred Amy decided to vote with her dollars and take her business elsewhere. Just as with candidates, it is personal choice who you vote for. Some people may like this level of ‘attentiveness’ from a company, while others may find it annoying. In the end, regardless of their ability and overall effectiveness, this company appeared to be painful to work with – based on our “gut feel” of the situation. A shame really.

Cast Your Vote!
This is what I would like you to do. Each new service or product you purchase in next few days, week, month, whatever – assess the effectiveness of each one. Consider if this is where you want to cast your vote. If so, continue to do so, if not, vote for another candidate. Over time this will change the way you view your purchases and your power as an individual – give it a try!

Voting with your dollars is an effective method of rewarding superior individuals and businesses!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding