How smaller businesses can take on the ‘big boys’ and succeed

Times have changed and size, physical presence and money no longer dictate your ability to trade nationally or internationally. Technology has broken these barriers, meaning SMEs can not only challenge, but they can now beat their larger competitors. Taking on the ‘big boys’ might seem like an insurmountable task given their access to connections and cash: among the brand leaders in your sector, buying power enables them to source products more cheaply, meaning they can reduce prices without eradicating profit margins; their reputation gives them a constant pipeline of new consumers; and their sheer size and scale gives them access to important spaces and people whose doors might remain firmly shut for unknown start-ups.

But the important lesson to learn is that you are not trying to beat them at their own game, instead you’re playing your own game that you can absolutely win! Trying to mimic the way household brands do things is unlikely to lead to success – although we can all learn from studying successful companies, of course. Instead, smaller firms must focus less on what they can’t do because of their size, and more on the strengths they have precisely because they are more agile, closer to their customer base, and able to display the kind of authenticity and personalised service that resonates so effectively with today’s consumers.

Find your followers

People use the most popular coffee chains and fast food restaurants because they are convenient: they walk past one every time they visit a UK high street, they drive past them at every service station on the motorway, and they can even use their phone to summon an order to their doorstep in a matter of minutes. By contrast, people use small businesses because they genuinely love their offering. These are the kind of ‘must try’ companies that they are telling their friends about, that they are leaving positive reviews for online, and that feel an emotional connection with. And this is crucial, because people will forget what they paid for your service, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

According to TLC Worldwide, three quarters of people report staying loyal to brands – and we know there are all kinds of factors which draw people towards smaller businesses. So, while you may not be able to compete with the brand leader on volume of consumers, you can absolutely ensure your return rate is higher than theirs!

Find the people who will travel out of their way because your menu is so delicious – bringing all their friends with them too; find the people who appreciate your excellent customer service and extra effort in getting a delivery to them at short notice; find the people who care about shopping local and shopping small. These are your ideal customers, and you should focus on satisfying them. And most importantly hang on to them once you’ve got them, customer retention is just as important as attracting new customers.

Tap into trends

As a smaller business, you are free of the layers of bureaucracy and the hierarchy which slow the ‘big boys’ down. Decisions can be made with relative ease and speed, meaning you can be tapping into the latest trend before the brand leader has even held its first meeting on the subject.

Smaller firms have been the front-runners for years when it comes to consumer trends, innovating and adapting in ways that huge firms simply do not have the flexibility to; great examples from the food and drink sector include the introduction of oat milk to independent coffee shops years before the major chains added it to their menu, and the launch of multiple zero-waste refill stores which eventually led to some of the supermarkets trialling refill stations and package-reduction efforts.

Focusing on truly understanding the market, listening to consumers, and maintaining a swift process when it comes to trying out new ideas can help independent businesses keep a competitive edge that will see the ‘big boys’ looking to copy them, not the other way round.

Communicate with customers

Consumers may feel they ‘know’ the CEO of some of the biggest brands through channels such as social media, but how many of them will actually ever meet that person? Compare this to a smaller business, where they are likely to directly benefit from the expertise and knowledge of the senior team, and this gives that company a real competitive edge. It means everyone in the team truly understands the customers, because they have a direct relationship with them, alongside a deeper connection with the brand and its values.

And it also means that they can more effectively showcase their vision and values. Having a real purpose that is shared across the team becomes exponentially more difficult the bigger that team becomes, as does keeping all those bonds that keep you intrinsically connected with your community.

Small companies who use that as one of their superpowers, effectively showcasing their value (and ensuring it matters more to consumers than their pricing), are those who make a name for themselves even if they are dwarfed in size and scale by some of their competitors.

Your closeness to your customers can push your company forward in so many areas, giving you the opportunity to offer a service which aligns perfectly with consumer demand, which reacts quickly to changes in the market, which delights customers so much that they return time after time, and which attracts loyalty. And these sorts of attributes are those which count as a real win for smaller businesses, enabling them not to win at the game the major players are taking part in, but to forge their own path, growing a valued reputation, a core tribe of supporters, and showing that you might be small, but you can absolutely be mighty because of – not despite – that fact. Not only can SMEs challenge the big brands, they can beat them.

ENDS 

Naeem Arif is an entrepreneur, management consultant and best-selling author of books including Customer First, who has delivered over £2bn in business transformation projects for a multitude of global corporations and SMEs. A former Forbes Business Council member, founder of the Retail & Hospitality Forum and honorary chairman of his local Chamber of Commerce, Naeem has a passion for giving back to the business community alongside running his own successful company. Visit www.linkedin.com/in/naeemarif to connect with Naeem on LinkedIn. 

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