How small shops can compete with big ones
A small artisan gelato and coffee store is concerned about cash flow while competing with a larger store across the street. Have you battled the big guys with your small business? What was the outcome?
From roger ,cleveland,ohio use coffee promotion cards to give customer free cup of coffee when they buy 5 cups or make a package of other snacks if you sell snacks in your store because bigger store cannot afford to give anything like this
From Renee O'Connor, Tucson, AZ My wife and I have opened our "Mom and Pop Furniture Shop" next to one of the top 100 furniture distributors (Box Store) in the country. We are truly David (or even Davids little brother) in a David and Goliath scenerio. We are finding that more and more people are getting fed-up with the high volume, low quality, high pressure sales approach. My wife and I tell our customers that we run our store completely opposite of the big box stores. We don't buy in high volume, nor do we sell cheap items, and you will never feel pressured into buying. Our mantra is…Our customers will be treated just as we would like to be treated when we're shopping for furniture. So far our practices have gotten great results. During these stressfull times in the economy (especially in the housing and home furnishings industry) when our "Goliath" neighbors sales have dropped by half, we are steadily holding our own…even increasing sales during times.
Many Thanks for noticing that there "are" small businesses out there!
Warmest Regards
Craig and Renee O'Connor
Owners – Shadow Furniture, Tucson AZ
http://www.shadowfurniture.com
From Aura Mae I own a small hair salon. We have four hairdressers and for the last two years have been voted one of the top 10 salons in our market. We have branded ourselves as a niche business. We don't try to attract every client, and we work hard to create an atmosphere that is comfortable to the clients we do attract. We don't have the advertising budget of a big salon, but we have a website and a blog and if we can get our prospective customers to read those, they self-select and we only end up with clients who are likely to enjoy the atmosphere. Not everyone will like us and that's ok! If we aren't struggling to keep clients who aren't a good match in the first place, we can focus our energies on delivering the experience that the other customers will enjoy. In a nutshell: Don't try to be all things to all people.
From Brandon Cornett, Austin, TX Hi Alison.
Great article. As coincidence would have it, I just finished an e-book on this very subject (it's free too). The premise behind the book is that small businesses can now compete with their larger competitors like never before, especially when they know how to leverage the power of the web.
The book is entitled "Online Equalizer" because it shows the small business owner how to level the playing field online.
You (and your readers) can download it or read it online at OnlineEqualizer.com
Take care!
-Brandon
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You must have superior customer service. Don't count on your employees to do this for you. Do the work yourself and get to know your customers. I have a small neighborhood convenience store…I work at least 10 hours a day and I know my customers and I've had many comments on how welcome they feel there