Facing The Giants: How To Make Your Small Business Stand Out Against Large Competitors

Running a small business can have its challenges, especially when it comes to competing with larger brands. Large companies seem to dominate the market with their endless resources and accessibility. Although it might seem daunting, there are ways that you can compete with these corporations to help your small business thrive.

Downsides Of Large Businesses:

Big businesses come with big problems. Each company faces its own set of issues, no matter the size, but these problems come to light more often with large companies. Large companies often lose their personalization and tend to stray from the niche market in which they started. While expanding your audience is a good thing, trying to advertise to anyone and everyone leaves a lot of gaps in marketing and advertising efforts.

Another downside of large businesses is that when they make a mistake people notice- and have plenty to say about it. In today’s “cancel culture”, an apology oftentimes isn’t enough. Even if the mistake is quickly fixed, chances are someone has already taken a screenshot and re-shared it with the internet for everyone to see. While customers love shopping with large businesses for convenience, they are just as quick to tear them apart. As a small business, you should do everything you can to post well thought out and proofread content, but if you have a small slip up your audience is less likely to notice before you are able to fix a mistake.

How To Make Your Small Business Stand Out:

Share your story with your audience. Let them know who you are, why you do what you do, and why you are passionate about your products. Be sure to highlight anything that makes you stand out! Customers like reading about things that are not business-related as well, so if your office enjoys a certain activity together, weekly coffee dates, or finding the best lunch spot in your town, share that! Personalization helps build a connection and credibility with your audience.

Let them in on what makes your product special. If possible, show some behind the scenes of you creating your product or a video of how your service works. Well-produced videos can help give your audience some insight and pique their interest.

If you mail out physical products, consider adding a short, handwritten note. Even something as simple as “Thank you for shopping with us!” or “We hope you enjoy your product” takes little effort but will put a smile on your customers’ faces.

Make sure your website is solid and clearly answers any questions your customer might have. Start with an FAQ section. Answer basic questions, such as payment methods you accept, how you keep customers’ information secure, how long shipping takes, or anything else relevant to your customers. Once you start to get established, you will likely have customers messaging you with questions. If a specific topic has come up with several customers, consider adding that to your FAQ page. The great thing about websites is that they are fairly easy to update, so make sure you are keeping up with your customer’s needs! Creating a blog is another way you can keep customers engaged and show off your expertise. Blogs add value to your website and give your customers some more insight on your industry, tips and tricks they can use, and anything else you think might be of value to them.

Competing against big businesses is a big task, but don’t underestimate yourself! Celebrate all of the things that make you unique, listen to your customers, and use all of the advantages you have as a small business. What is your favorite aspect of being a small business? What advantages and disadvantages have you found?