If you’re running a small business, competing with the likes of Amazon and Walmart can prove very difficult. It’s hard to challenge the price, convenience, and even brand power that these massive entities carry. Small businesses need to do everything in their power to stand out.
Fortunately, there’s plenty of ways to do so. Here’s five easy ones to get started with.
Embrace in-store pickup. Like I said, it’s hard to challenge the convenience offered by big businesses. If you run a small business, you’ve got limited resources. Making the customer experience as convenient as possible is one of the only ways to compete. One way to do so is by embracing in-store pickup. With delivery faster than ever, customers want their goods ASAP. If your business has the infrastructure to support in-store pickup, I highly recommend giving it a shot.
Better focus. One of the biggest advantages massive retailers have can also be one of their biggest weaknesses. They’re selling everything to everyone. There’s just not as much specialization involved.
That’s where your small business comes in. With a better focus on your target market combined with a good understanding of the industry you exist within, you can deliver a more refined customer experience. Hook customers up with better quality customer service and product support. Drastically improve your marketing efforts by focusing on the customers that are right for your business.
Focus on loyalty. Want to make sure customers stick around? Make sure you’re focusing on maintaining a stable base of loyal customers. When you’ve established a loyal base, you don’t have to worry about losing their business to larger competitors. Your their default choice. It’s because you offer an experience they just can’t get anywhere else.
One key way to establish loyalty is by implementing a rewards program. An appealing rewards program will keep your customers locked in and consistently spending within your small business’s ecosystem.
The human connection. When competing with larger businesses, you need to offer what they can’t. In many cases, that’s the human connection. Marketing automation is powerful technology that’s absolutely worth exploring, even for small businesses. It can make customer service a heck of a lot easier. But while 60% of people in the US prefer automated self-service when it comes to simple customer service tasks (according to AE), 30% find the most frustrating part of a poor customer service experience to be the simple inability to get in contact with an actual human being (according to Microsoft). Use your people to your advantage, even if you’re also leveraging automation. Make it easy to get in touch with them for service.
Get local. And finally, one of the most significant advantages small businesses have over their corporate counterparts is, well, other small businesses! By strategically partnering with other small businesses, you can connect with customers who may never have thought to give your business a shot in the first place. Try to find businesses whose products or services complement your own. With the right cross-promotion, both parties can stand to benefit.
Compete With CoGoBuzz
It’s time for your small business to stand out from the pack. We’re here to help with CoGoBuzz, our state-of-the-art digital marketing service.
CoGoBuzz leverages WiFi, SMS, and Email solutions to promote your business both in-store and out. We start by using your in-store HotSpot to display an interactive landing page tailored to your business. It shows up directly in your customers’ mobile browsers, highlighting your business’s biggest deals, BOGO specials, and deals! Send exclusive coupons to your customers with just a text message!
Click here to learn more about CoGoBuzz!
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How does your small business compete? Sound off in the comments!