My blog focuses on Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. There are multiple types of businesses in the business world. Not everyone is giant business or has to be in order to be profitable. The following contributed post is entitled, How Local Businesses Can Compete With National Giants.
* * *
Running a small business isn’t always easy – it can feel like you’re going up against big national companies with bigger budgets, bigger teams, and fancy adverts on every corner, and often that really is the case. They’re the ones with the logos you instantly recognise, they’ve got fast delivery, and they’ve got massive customer service teams working 24/7.
So how are you supposed to keep up with all that?
The good news is you don’t need to beat them at their own game, you just need to play yours really well. Big companies might have more money, but you’ve got something they can’t buy – local knowledge, good relationships, and the kind of service people remember for positive reasons. With that in mind, keep reading to learn more about how local businesses like yours can compete with national giants.
You Know Your Area Better
Big companies try to sell the same things in every town, and that’s not what you do – you live and work where your customers are, which means you know what they care about. You know what the weather’s like. You know when the local school breaks up for the holidays, and so on. It’s all these little things that help you connect with people better, and when you can connect with people, they’re more likely to become your customers for the long term.
That’s why you’ve to use the fact that you know your local area better to your advantage and make sure you mention local events and talk about what’s going on in the area on your social media and in your marketing where you can. Big brands can’t do that at all because they’ll just be faking it all, so you’ve got a huge advantage there.
You Can Treat People Like People
At a big company, customers are often just a number, but in small businesses, people remember your name, and they ask how you’re doing – and they care about the answers too. So think about that for your own business, because if that’s how you feel and what you’ve noticed, it’s what other people are going to have felt and noticed as well.
That’s actually exactly the kind of thing that makes people come back – it’s true you’ll need good prices and excellent service as well, but if you can make people feel welcome and treat them kindly, then you’ll be able to build strong, loyal relationship, and that makes all the difference as time goes on.
You’re Easier To Talk To
Try calling a big company when you’ve got a problem, and you’ll probably be on hold forever. And when you do finally get through to someone, they might not even be able to help or really know what you’re talking about, very often because they don’t know the products well. But that’s where local businesses can really stand out and prove why they’re the best choice.
If something goes wrong, your customers can speak to you directly, and you can fix things quickly and properly. You can be clear when you’re explaining things as well, and you’ll obviously be as patient and kind as possible, which isn’t what always happens when you try to get in touch with bigger, national companies. And even if the customer was quite frustrated because there was an issue, the way you handle it personally and can fix the problem quickly can turn things around quite easily.
You Can Show Up Online
Big companies spend loads of money on online ads, but that doesn’t mean local businesses can’t be found online too. In fact, having a clear Google profile, a simple website, or even just a Facebook page can be plenty when it comes to helping people in your local area find you when they need what you offer.
You don’t have to be everywhere, unlike national companies – you just have to be in the right places for your customers to see you, and although that might sound like a big job, it’s not as hard as it might initially seem. And when you do it right, and someone searches for your service in your town and you pop up with good reviews and helpful info, that’s what’s really going to matter.
That’s what something like local SEO for attorneys is all about – it’s making sure the right people find you at the right time. You can get plenty of help with SEO as well, to ensure that whatever your business does or sells and wherever you are, the people who need you will be able to find you.
Your Story Matters
Most big brands look the same wherever you go – you’ll see the same signs, the same layout, basically just the same everything. But small businesses don’t have to be like that, which is a good thing – you’ve got stories to tell, and you can do that in any way you want because you don’t have to do things a big head office is telling you to do. You can be unique, and that makes you memorable.
People love to hear stories about why and how you started your business, or what ideas you’ve got because it makes them feel part of something. So don’t be afraid to tell your story, and make sure you put it on your website, talk about it on social media, or just mention it to your customers. It makes your business feel a lot more real, and that’s something people really love.
Be Part Of The Community
You’re not just in your town because that’s where you happened to start your business – you’re there because, in most cases, it’s also where you live, or at least it’s a place you know really well. So you’re part of the place, and people love to support local businesses, even more so if they also give back. So what about sponsoring a local football team or donating a price to a school raffle, for example?
These small acts show you really care about the community you’re working (and possibly living) in, and that’s going to help, plus when people see you doing things, they’ll be more inclined to join in as well, so your community gets what it needs at the same time.
Use What You’ve Got
You don’t need a big team or lots of expensive tools to reach out to people – social media is completely free, and you’re probably already using it anyway, so why not make use of it for your business? But more than that, you could also send out email newsletters because they’re free as well, and there are other options too that aren’t going to cost a fortune and that you’re probably already using (or could use if you made a few tweaks).
You don’t have to send out news every day, and you don’t even have to post on social media daily either – as long as you’re consistent with what you do, even if it’s a weekly post or discussion and a monthly newsletter, then people will know what to expect. And just make it fun – don’t try to sell specific products. Talk about something that happened in town, or how you’re making things easier for customers, and they’ll come to you and find the products by themselves.
Offer Something They Don’t
Big companies sell a lot of the same things – they have to because that’s what people expect. So you’ll find the same things in every town you go to, and that can be useful because their customers know what’s what, but in general, it’s not ideal – there’s no excitement and no surprises.
You can do things differently, however, and that’s something you need to show. Maybe you offer a more personal service, for example, or maybe you have a product that’s made locally. It could just be that you’re more personal, and very often that can be enough. So take a look at the things that make you special and focus on them – you don’t have to be everything or sell everything, just make sure you do what you do really well.
Keep Your Promises
People remember when a business does what it says it will, so if you say you’ll call someone back, call them. If you offer a delivery time, stick to it. If you tell someone you’ll fix a problem, follow through. It’s not a difficult thing to do most of the time, but it will make you stand out because larger businesses break their promises all the time, very often because they’re too big to keep them (or care much about it).
That’s going to help to build trust with your customers, and trust is everything in the end. When people trust you, they’ll buy from you, they’ll return to buy more, and they’ll tell others about you, and that’s the ideal way to grow your business because it’s organic, fast, and free.
Be Proud To Be Small
There’s nothing wrong with being a small business, and in fact, it’s something to be proud of. It means you can be part of the town, and you’re doing things your own way. And if you’re offering something authentic, and you’re clearly not part of the big machine, people are going to respond positively to that.
So instead of trying to act like the big guys, show off what makes you different and be local and personal because that’s what makes people choose you.
