Competing Against Big Corporations

It can sometimes be daunting for small businesses trying to break into the market when big corporations dominate it. They have ample funding, a stable foundation, and are well-known in their markets compared to small businesses. There are a lot of ways that small businesses can get a leg up over their larger competitors. Let's look at some ways small businesses can compete in today’s market against big corporations.

Small Businesses can adapt to market changes more quickly.

Small businesses have the ability to see how the market is moving, and they can adapt to the changes at a much faster rate than a big corporation can. Suppose something is growing in popularity in the area or sweeping across the internet that’s grabbing people’s attention. In that case, a small business can quickly jump on the bandwagon or take part in the trend and use it to its advantage. On the other hand, a big corporation can take months to go through the process of finding ideas and trends, coming up with a plan on how to use it, getting approval for the plan, and finally interacting with it.

Small Business Has Less Bureaucracy.

Large corporations have so many employees that they typically have different teams and boards dedicated to specific tasks. This can get confusing or impede the speed of action when it comes to marketing decisions or helping customers.

Small companies, on the other hand, are smaller and therefore don’t have all the different departments and communication lines going through them. It’s much easier for problems or concerns to be handled, and there is more direct communication between owners and leaders to their employees and consumers.

Small Businesses are More Connected to their Local Communities.

As a small business, you have the ability to interact and connect with your community more than any corporation would be able to. As a small business, you can make your mark on your community by doing things like participating in local events like sponsoring or volunteering for little leagues, community gatherings, and parades.

Many small businesses also make donations around their communities or participate in fundraisers. These examples can create a stronger bond between a small business and its community, making people want to do business with them over big corporations.

Leaders and Owners can be more Involved.

Due to the smaller size, small business owners and leaders not only have the ability to be closer to their teams and employees but their consumers as well. This allows them to have a more personal connection with every part of their business and therefore be more involved in every step of their company's processes to ensure consumers and clients are happy and that the team is working efficiently.

Small Businesses and Disruptive Innovation

Disruptive innovation is essentially “targeting those overlooked segments, gaining a foothold by delivering more-suitable functionality”. Small businesses can take advantage of the ability to fill gaps that corporations can’t. Big corporations tend to cover a wide array of markets with many different products. Still, in most cases, this can cause the quality of their products to lower or be more simplified so that production doesn’t become slow and tedious.

Small Businesses Can Adapt Services based on Customer Needs.

Due to their size, big corporations typically have to follow specific protocols or steps through interacting with customers and handling different situations. Small businesses don’t have to do this, though. As a small business, you can participate in more active listening with your customers, and you can tailor customer experiences to everyone’s benefit.

This custom approach you create can open the door for closer relationships with customers, allowing you to create long-lasting relationships that keep bringing business back to you.

Team Members can be more Involved with One Another, Making it Easier to Collaborate in a Small Business.

Large corporations can have a substantial amount of employees compared to small businesses. Small businesses usually have 100 or fewer employees, while large corporations can have upwards of thousands of employees. Some, like Amazon, even have millions.

This can make communication for large corporations extremely difficult internally, while small businesses have a much easier time. Not only is collaboration easier in small businesses, but your size also means you can empower your team more than corporations can. This boosts team morale and can improve work ethic.

Small Businesses have the Freedom to Make Quick Decisions that Big Corporations Can’t.

Big corporations may have more money, but that doesn’t mean they can take risks in their business ventures. Unlike small businesses, big corporations have shareholders to appease, a more diverse customer base, and more hoops to jump through internally, making risky moves and ventures very difficult for them to take.

This means that instead of taking risks, they will most likely opt for safer but less creative plans and ideas for their products and marketing. As a small business, you don’t have to worry about pleasing the masses therefore, you can do more creative ideas.

Small businesses have a range of benefits and skills that big corporations and businesses can’t take advantage of, allowing them to break into the market in amazing ways.

If you’re unsure how to use your small business status to your advantage, contact Comprehensive Consulting Solutions for Small Businesses, and we’d be more than happy to help!