The Persuasive Power of Boycotts

When businesses - even the most powerful ones - offer terrible customer service, mistreat their workers or take unfair advantage of consumers, there is a way to influence them to mend their ways. And yes, it's a way that's peaceful, ethical and moral.

by Bob Burg

While I'm an unapologetic supporter and defender of Free Enterprise, fully participate in it myself and believe that the vast majority of companies make their money in ways that greatly benefit and add value to the general populace, that doesn't mean that just because a business exists that it always acts in acceptable and appropriate ways.

Whether committing ongoing, horrible customer service, mistreating workers or animals during its daily routine, or even continually not honoring agreements yet being too big to successfully go after personally, there's no reason people have to stand by and accept that behavior as "just the way it is."

And, the fact is, even if the "disturbing thing" they are doing is legal, we still might consider it to be unsavory, unethical or immoral to the point that we'd like to influence the company to cease that particular practice or practices.

Fortunately, there is a way to influence businesses - even the giant ones - to mend their ways. And, this way is indeed savory, ethical and moral.

In a free society; i.e. where the rights of the individual reign supreme (which, as history has proved, happens to result in a higher standard of living for the masses), one of the most effective forms of peaceful yet powerful change is boycotting.

This is where large numbers of people *voluntarily* (the key word) agree to cease doing business with a company until such company makes changes that would result in the boycotters once again being able to justify doing business with it.

I would call this an excellent form of Winning Without Intimidation on a group level.

Here's why:

1. No one's rights have been infringed upon

The offending company does not have to adjust its ways of doing business should it choose not to.

If it doesn't mind losing the business of the boycotters (or, feel that having the boycotters' business is not worth the trouble to change its ways, or that it can hold out until the boycotters "lose their will to continue" the boycott), that is its choice. The company's rights have not been usurped through the force of violence or government.

(Note: In a free society, individuals have the right to live their lives and conduct their business as they see fit, providing they don't infringe upon the rights of anyone else to do the same. While this definition has never been 100 percent honored in the U.S. since inception - first and, by far, foremost with the monstrous institution of slavery, and now with more and more senseless regulatory policy that cripples everyone from rich to poor - it is still the "gold standard to which we aspire.)

2. It's easier and faster to implement than ever before

Technology rocks when calling for a boycott.

Yes, like any Universal Law that can be used for good or evil, technology - in this case we're talking about the Internet - should be handled with care and discretion. Many people use this technology to dishonestly influence others.

It's a shame, but that's life and we need to be aware of it. Fortunately, there are protections, such as websites like Snopes.com, where you can check out rumors before clicking the "send" button and filling up your friends' email inboxes with untruths.

Better to err on the side of caution, while leaving the door open for new information

Important! . . . Checking on Snopes.com is not enough if you plan to participate in a boycott that you are not originating (and don't know the facts first-hand).

Recently, something came up where I very nearly participated in a boycott and planned to publicize it. It dealt with a cause in which I truly believe. The evidence was compelling and nowhere on the Internet did I find any refutation.

So, I personally called the corporation that was being targeted and spoke with its public relations manager. He directed me to some information that - while certainly not conclusive - proved to me that I knew it would take further research before I could honestly claim to "know enough facts" to participate in potential harming the company.

Of course, I also spoke with a representative of the organization calling for the boycott and, while I very much appreciated their point of view, again, it simply wasn't conclusive. (My opinion is that it is better to err on the side of caution so as not to unintentionally commit gossip, while still leaving the door open to new information and future action.)

When there is a boycott request you truly believe in (or wish to organize yourself), and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the cause is just and the facts support it, you can quickly and effectively make use of this amazing technology in order to get the word out faster and to more people than would have been imaginable years earlier (yet, even then, boycotts worked).

Of course, in a local situation, while the Internet may be helpful, word of mouth person-to-person can also work very effectively.

3. It is measurable

You know if any changes have taken place or are in the process of taking place. As Thom Scott Thom Scott says, "What can be measured, can be improved." Monitoring the process allows for communication between boycotters, and between boycotters and the offending party.

We've seen boycotting work numerous times in our past. Sometimes we agree with things people boycott for and other times we don't. When we don't, we can choose to communicate our disagreement, as well. We've also seen boycotting fail.

Remember, a boycott is not a guarantee of getting one's way, but it certainly increases the chances, and respects everyone's rights in the process.

Bob Burg of Burg Communications,Inc is author of EndlessReferrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts Into Sales, Winning Without Intimidation and The Success Formula. Check out his full line of books, ebooks and CDs from which everyone can grow and prosper at his online store. Bob also publishes a wide-acclaimed free weekly ezine, Winning Without Intimidation. Subscribe here. Sign up here for a free subscription to Bob's Endless Referrals Video Brief.

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