Business Incentives Often Misunderstood

Posted on | February 9, 2010 | 1 Comment

Mary Ann Miller

Sale!  Coupons!  Rebates!

As consumers we’re always on the lookout for these.  We check the newspapers and sign up for e-mail notices.  If something particularly good comes by, we might even share it with friends.  From Black Friday to Cash for Clunkers to a free Grand Slam Breakfast, we’re interested in and react to getting a good deal on things we want and things we need.

But shhhh!  Don’t tell anyone.

These are “incentives!”

Yes, those same dreaded tools the Tempe Chamber supports to lure jobs and businesses to the state.

Why do businesses send us these coupons?  We’d buy their products anyway, right?

What?  You’d buy from the competitor if it was cheaper?  You check out the grocery ads to see if you’d save more money at Fry’s or Safeway or Bashas?

Thank God businesses don’t act that way.  They don’t pay attention to how much it will cost to operate in a particular location.  They don’t comparison shop for where they’ll invest their money and bring their jobs.  They don’t need incentives and they don’t respond to incentives.

Just like you don’t.

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