It has been proven time and time again that small companies can compete successfully with the “big guys.” As I told my staff at a previous small company I managed and grew: “As a small business the worst thing we can do is imitate a large competitor. We have to be different, we have to be better.”
Below are ideas and concepts you can use to effectively compete with the larger companies in your industry.
Customer service excellence — As a small company you can be nimble and delight your customers by providing excellence in customer service. You would be surprised how many companies don’t.
Be sure to provide quick access to information and always follow up on customer requests in a timely fashion. Take care of the details and delight your customers with each contact they make with your company.
Don’t forget to also thank your customers for their business.
Differentiate your product — As a small company you need to differentiate your product or service. You should determine how to best differentiate for your market and focus on quality instead of quantity.
The last thing you want is to be selling a commodity where price is all that matters. A larger firm will almost always have an “economies of scale” advantage in a commodity business.
Take care of your employees — Make sure you consider what makes your employees feel good about their job and your company.
In a small business, each employee is important and should share in the hard work and rewards. The happier your employees are and the more excited they are, the better they will take care of the customers.
Find a niche — As a small business one of the most successful strategies you can employ is to find a niche.
Study your market and determine what might be missing that customers would pay for.
Keep in mind that customers don’t always know they want something until you provide it.
Understanding your customer and your customer’s customer can help you find these valuable niches.
Have heart and character — It’s important for all companies to understand culture. While culture can be hard to put into words, you know it when you work for, or deal with a company on a daily basis.
Have heart and have character that customers can love. Customers are attracted to your character — to your brand.
Your brand may not be for everyone, but that’s ok. The customers that are attracted to it will embrace it that much more.
Management access — In a large company executives and decision makers don’t get to see customers as often as they do with a small business.
Use these valuable customer insights to your strategic advantage. As a small firm you can also be nimble in engineering, product development and operations.
This will provide you with the ability to react quickly and service your market faster than a large firm would be able to.
The entrepreneur should not be deterred by or scared to compete with the big guys. Remember, you don’t need to be the biggest to be the best. Many profitable businesses, in fact some of the most profitable companies, focus on being the best in their niche, not the biggest by volume.
Your single biggest challenge will be the internal pressure and politics demanding something other than optimal strategies. Think long term and be sure to walk in your customer’s shoes.
Provide what matters to your most profitable and loyal customers. A focused strategy such as this will often provide the best returns for all stakeholders.
Andy Singer is the president of Singer Executive Development, a professional training and development company that helps optimize business performance of employees and executives. He can be reached at andy.singer@singerexecutivedevelopment.com
