3 Things You Should Leverage When You’re a Small Business Competing Against Amazon and The Like
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Achieving Small Business Competing success can be challenging, especially when you’re up against giants like Amazon and its ilk. However, it’s all been made easier with technology and the internet, which evens out the playing field considerably. It’s now well within your small business’ power to compete with the major players through tech and other resources. Let’s get started.
Leverage brand personality.
Most Small Business Competing don’t really realize this, but you do have an edge over the big leagues. While Amazon and the others are massive, largely faceless corporations, you are a real person. This makes you and your brand easier to relate to for most customers, which, in turn, fosters brand affinity.
It is for this very reason why it’s important to really cultivate a brand personality that’s engaging, unique, and relatable. Not only does it promote recognition, but it also creates trust. At the very least, it’s a must to have a memorable logo, as well as nurture an interesting social media presence. These days, an advocacy does wonders for your reputation, too, which is a truly useful leg-up for small businesses.
As Forbes explains, another great benefit of being a business small enough to reach clients on a deeper level is how you have the opportunity to double down on customer experience. Getting it right entails focusing on all aspects of your business—from advertising to shipping, feedback to continuous improvement—so it’s all smooth sailing.
With this formula of sorts for a successful and customer-centric small business in mind, it’s crucial to have the right technology and infrastructure in place, not just to make customer transactions seamless, but also to run your small business efficiently. This runs the gamut from integrated shopping carts to couriers, as well as inventory management software, customer service/satisfaction platforms, bookkeeping systems, and so much more. And while all these may be well beyond your capabilities as an entrepreneur, it invariably brings us to the next point.
Leverage freelancers.
With the plethora of business functions that you need to consider in running a small business, it may seem that Amazon and other big companies have it made, with their large budgets and manpower. But don’t be disheartened because as Chron points out, once again, the internet delivers.
These days, technology has made it easier for people to work remotely, which is why there’s no dearth of individuals pursuing freelancing careers in just about any capacity. Similarly, the internet also makes these freelancers accessible to you, so you can tap experts for operational tasks that are not within your skillset (or availability) to perform yourself.
Whether you need a web developer to create a professional website, or a graphic designer to design your branding materials, or even a virtual assistant to take menial tasks out of your hands, you can easily recruit freelancers with the right job board. By delegating tasks this way, you get the benefit of their experience and expertise, as well as allow yourself to devote your time and energy to what really matters—growing your business and revenue.
Leverage tech tools.
And finally, you’ll be surprised just how much you can do and achieve in developing your small business by having the right tech tools in your arsenal—some of which are free! There are so many available today that are designed specifically to help you perform myriad tasks, ranging from accounting to marketing to customer relationship management.
As an example, one tool that will definitely get plenty of mileage is the humble-yet-nifty online voice recorder that makes recording information and note-taking from emails and meetings a lot more seamless. Accurate recordings are just a button-press away, which you can then download into an MP3. There are even services that will transcribe your audio for a small fee, so you can easily use the text versions on your email, website, social media, and the like.
No doubt, Amazon and its bedfellows are intimidating when you’re a small business. But by leveraging the right resources and strategy, you can, in fact, give them a run for their money. So why don’t you?
Published By: TalkElement Article By: Chelsea Lamb Image via Unsplash
