“Hey Wal-Mart.... SHHHHH!”  While most entrepreneurs dream big, the truth is, no one is bigger or louder than Wal-Mart. In his article The Wal-Mart You Don't Know,  Charles Fishman specifies: “Wal-Mart is not just the world's largest retailer. It's the world's largest company--bigger than ExxonMobil, General Motors, and General Electric.” The article originally published in 2003   states that Wal-Mart sold $244.5 billion worth of goods in 2002. “It sells in three months what number-two retailer Home Depot sells in a year. And in its own category of general merchandise and groceries, Wal-Mart no longer has any real rivals. It does more business than Target, Sears, Kmart, J.C. Penney, Safeway, and Kroger combined.”  In any metropolis, it doesn't matter how unique or individual a business is, nor how superior their  product or service may be, word of mouth advertising is falling on deaf ears with big box stores are silencing every referral.  Mom-and-pop may be hard to find when freeway off ramps and new roads are built specifically to accommodate a new location for an agglomerate big box store.  With rising awareness to the economical and ethical repercussions of chain stores, consumers are more likely to support and prefer the local mom-and-pop shop, which mandates effective advertising for even the smallest home businesses.

Of course, several articles have been published as though Wal-Mart were the only villain posing a threat to local businesses. Chain stores, big box stores, there are several and the threat isn't merely an overall local business slow down. The New York Times in publishing the findings of a study conducted by Rep. Anthony Weiner, a member of the House Commerce Committee indicates very clearly that “Chain pharmacies have muscled out more than 75 mom-and-pop pharmacies in the last year alone, according to a new study conducted by Rep. Anthony Weiner, a member of the House Commerce Committee. While community pharmacies close, big chain pharmacies have grown to 654 today from 165 in 1990.”

            Mr. Weiner's study found that:

• 77 neighborhood pharmacies closed in New York City last year alone

• Chain pharmacies (four or more stores) have grown to 654, up from 165 in 1990.

• The largest chains, like Duane Reade, Rite Aid, and CVS, have gobbled up the city's pharmacy market. There are currently 226 Duane Reade stores, 85 Rite Aid stores, 56 Walgreens, and 119 CVS stores in the five boroughs.

Supermarkets and other big box stores make up the remaining 83 pharmacies.

• Neighborhood pharmacies are closing over all the five boroughs: 23 closed in Queens; 22 in Brooklyn; 16 in Manhattan; 12 in the Bronx; and four in Staten Island.

Local business owners, large and small are encouraged not to wait for the next chain store, advertise now and advertise effectively. Cogent campaigns can pay for themselves. ACI Call Tracking provides the specificity the studies and marketing specialist leave out when publishing their demographics and statistics published as to the most effective advertising campaigns. Call tracking provides the means for business owners to repeat what works locally, and avoid the costly consequences of relying on what works regionally or nationally. Call tracking is imperative and business owners have given ACI Call tracking the accolades of being a premier provider of web and call analytics. It's in the best interest of any business owner to explore call tracking, its benefits and its cost efficiency.

Big box stores are spending millions, some literally spend billions, and the only way smaller companies can compete with a smaller budget is by utilizing a service that can optimize and track the advertisement that is driving their business.  All it takes is a voice, mom-and-pop's ad, the local business owners marketing campaigns to shush the chain store's expensive, vociferous advertising. Now that's a bigger box.