But there is business benefit, I think, to standing up to them, to saying NO, like the CEO of Goya did recently. I would be shocked if his net business did not go up after all this. People like me will see Goya on the shelf and buy that in preference to any other brand.
Nobody likes killjoys and scolds. Nobody like puritanical lunatics whose only joy in life is ruining people’s days as often as possible.
Not only do I think moral courage for its own sake is worth nearly any amount of trouble, but I honestly think that even from a purely, selfishly, bottom line oriented perspective there is a financial upside to standing up to these people, and being perceived as doing so.
In a world where the market is saturated in every field, from beans to email, you can’t appeal equally to everyone. And it’s stupid to try. What you need is a strong field of intensely loyal customers. That is plenty to build any business on.
Right now, showing yourself to be willing to stand up to the bullies is a shrewd marketing move, in my view.
And caving in is a bad one. I don’t buy Nike any more. For anything. Ever. I cancelled Papa John’s. Barnes and Noble–who refused to sell Milo’s book–is my last recourse when other stores don’t have what I want.
And even Chik-Fil-A pissed me off with their recent accomodationism. They were golden. Now they are perhaps silver or bronze. I notice. I remember. And I’m not the only one.