How Small Businesses Can Compete Against Big Business and Be Succesful at it

For so many years big business dominated the corporate world but as they say: “Times, they are a changing.”  Entrepreneurs have made great headway into the business world and are rapidly not only competing with big businesses but often dominating them.  One of the biggest worries facing new business owners starting a new venture is that they won’t be able to compete against the bigger players that are already well-established but that’s really not true anymore.  In fact, in many ways, small businesses are inherently more competitive than their larger counterparts and have many qualities and advantages that big businesses don’t have.

First off, small businesses are much more in touch with their customers’ wants and needs.  In essence, they are closer to them and are more easily able to keep their fingers on the pulse of what their customers are looking for in a brand.  Very often, entrepreneurs will meet and speak directly to customers on a daily basis.  In large business, oftentimes decision makers don’t get the exposure to their customers that could make them more effective in the long run.  One of the greatest advantages for small businesses is that they can get direct, immediate feedback from their customers and learn about their needs and interests.  This allows entrepreneurs to spot new business opportunities earlier than their larger competitors.

Additionally, small firms tend to be more responsive to their customers because they are able to listen to them more clearly.  As a result, they can change their business operations and processes much more quickly than big businesses.  Small firms are therefore usually more able to innovate or introduce new products in a small timeframe.

Small businesses can be more zealous and radical about their business products than their larger competitors because they are not bogged down by strict rules and regulations that have long since been put in place.  They have less red tape to bounce over.  Entrepreneurs are often more fixated in their attempts to improve their existing services because they haven’t become complacent with “business as usual” as their larger counterparts have.  Big firms are usually more constrained by corporate policy and guidelines which hinder their abilities to do anything too radical or too quickly.

Small businesses can also keep their costs lower.  First off, they usually don’t have a choice in the matter as their survival depends on it.  They don’t have the overhead that their larger counterparts do and as a result the costs of innovating or developing something new doesn’t have to be a barrier.  As a result, entrepreneurs have to be smarter about how they spend their money and this can lead to success because they are able to more readily keep their eye on what matters most to their customers and drives them to more rapid success.

Something else that is key to small businesses is that they are often more adaptable.  They can turn orders around faster and try more ideas at once.  They can have more informal business plans that allow them to react and adapt to the market and their customers’ needs.

Small businesses also don’t have as many rules to follow.  Entrepreneurs are not hamstrung by bosses and strict corporate office policies.  They are able to allow their employees to be more creative and forward thinking.  They have the ability to give them more leeway in how they approach their work every day.

Small businesses often tend to be more on the pulse of social networking which is key to success in today’s corporate world.  They are more active on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and others.  Often this is because they have no other choice in how to get the word out about the products and services they are offering.  They tend to blog more and create a dialogue flow with their consumers and can therefore, more easily realize what their customers want and expect from them in the long run.

Oftentimes, small businesses have a more narrow focus and mindset.  They are not trying to please everyone as their larger counterparts often are.  They are able to stick with one strong idea and move forward with it instead of having tons of different departments that easily get tangled up with one another and can slow down forward movement.

As I’ve talked about today, in essence, it’s often easier for small firms to concentrate on quality over quantity, something their larger counterparts can’t do.  They are able to maintain their individuality while still focusing on their customers and this is often a quicker path to success.  So the point is, small firms can indeed compete very effectively with larger firms.  In fact, larger corporations have in recent years often tried to emulate what their smaller counterparts are doing.  The lesson here today is that an entrepreneur should not be deterred by larger competitors or be scared to compete with them because often being smaller in scope affords greater opportunities in the long run.

So how do you feel about small businesses being able to compete in a larger, more corporate world?  Do you think they really do have advantages and a shot at being successful?  If you’re an entrepreneur, what are some of the challenges you’ve faced when competing against your larger competitors?  Do you believe in what I’ve said here today?  Leave a comment and let me know how you feel.

Here are some articles you might want to check out about how small businesses can compete against big business:

“Competing against Bigger Businesses”: http://www.inconcertfinancialgroup.com/forte-consulting/competing-against-bigger-businesses.shtml

“5 Ways a Small Business Can Successfully Compete against the Big Boys”: http://forum.web.com/5-ways-a-small-business-can-successfully-compete-against-the-big-boys/

“5 Ways Small Business Can Out-Compete Big Chains”: http://thrivehive.com/5-ways-small-businesses-can-out-compete-big-chains

“How Entrepreneurs Can Compete with Big Business and Win”: https://www.openforum.com/articles/how-entrepreneurs-can-use-their-strengths-to-compete-with-big-business-and-win/

Until next time…