ROAR: Is buying local always best?
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By Omar Budeiri, ROAR,
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OVER the past few weeks there seem to have been more and more articles highlighting the benefits of buying local; understandable in retail and produce markets, but is local still the best option when taking into account our telecommunications needs? The first thing to consider is, why is the business you’re buying from local? There are two types of local business; those who are local because they are still building their service, and those who are local because they love their area and want to help provide for those living in it. Those who love their locality often have a lot more to offer than is first anticipated. Although you’d often expect to find large telecommunications agencies supplying to a range of clients nationwide, there are a number which choose to keep their offering to those in their immediate proximity. This could be for a number of reasons. Many of the benefits of sourcing local products and services remain the same whether you’re buying phones or food. Products purchased from local providers are guaranteed to support your area. The money spent on products all stays within the community and often goes towards developing the region and guaranteeing job security. In the case of a telecommunications supplier, staying local also has the advantage that the organisation’s employees can be on hand to assist you when needed. Not only will they be able to get to you quickly should any problems occur, you’ll also get to put a face to a name, rather than simply speaking to an anonymous voice. Of course staying local does have its downside. It can often be more difficult to establish a client base and expand the business as there will always be competition from larger, nationwide corporations. It’s also true that local suppliers tend to be smaller and therefore likely to take on fewer clients, although that’s not to say that the services provided are in any way diminished by the size of the organisation. So when it comes to sourcing your telecommunications supplier, keep in mind that you don’t need to look to the multi-nationals to get good service. Your perfect provider could be just around the corner. More articles in
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