5 Tips for Small Businesses to Thrive in Big Business-Dominated Industries

It is easy for small businesses to get intimidated in a competitive market place dominated by big brands. Even though many startups enter the market with much enthusiasm and motivation, they sometimes succumb to the pressures of trying to stay in business and keeping up with other numerous brands that provide similar value but have a much bigger resource base.

Despite the challenges, there are a few tips that small businesses can follow to enable them to thrive in industries dominated by big businesses.

Personal brand

To be able to enter the market successfully, a good personal brand is important. Your personal brand is all about your relationship with customers and how you manage to position yourself in the market. A good personal brand is one which can reach out, trigger empathy, and connect with the target market, community, stakeholders, and strategic partners. Your ability to provide maximum value and satisfaction will determine your success in the industry. If your business idea still lacks a personal brand, ensure that you create one before you set out to launch it.

You can leverage on your personal brand, human touch, and personal relationships to make your customers feel special. Set proper expectations for your business. Do not create a bad image for your brand by making promises which you cannot deliver. Avoid getting pushed into quick time frames that you can’t meet. Always under promise and over-deliver. It is always better in business to make lesser promises and then deliver to exceed the expectations of your customers.

Create a focus

An excellent strategy with which small businesses can easily succeed in big-business dominated industries is to focus on niche markets to sink business roots deep and fast. There are always opportunities to expand later on. Through focusing on a niche, you can make maximum use of your limited resources to provide your target market with a product or service which big businesses have not been able to recognize. This endears customers to your brand because you are able to provide something which other brands have not been able to.

Select one or two markets which you can serve effectively. Allow the big brands to compete for the more obvious and profitable markets while you steadily gain recognition and grow your market presence within your small niche, making it easier for you to gain grounds within other markets later on.

Plan for scalability now and save time and resources later

It is important to prioritize your investments. Set priorities based on your goals. Make plans for future expansion now and save yourself time, money, and other resources down the road. It is essential to put some effort into researching your market, making plans, setting goals, and finding out areas where you might need to make adjustments later on.

Make investments in the areas of your business which allow you to stay competitive, helping you to avoid making frequent upgrades, and saving time and money in the long run. Also make sure to get insurance for your business.

Launch your social media campaign on time

Don’t wait till the last minute to launch a social media campaign for your product. Your social media marketing plan should be integrated early in your business planning cycle. It should not be done in the last minute as an afterthought.

Avoid falling into random marketing that will end up hurting your brand. Making use of social media for your marketing campaign provides a lot of opportunities for you to grow your customer base and expand your business. The use of social media helps you to drive traffic to your business. It is consumer friendly, provides you with new and improved business pages, and is easy and cheap to set up. It ensures that you have the opportunity to engage your consumers and enable them to learn more about your business values, mission, and purpose.

In doing so you actively build your brand and customer loyalty.  Social media campaigns help your business to obtain a two way interaction between you and your target market, enabling you to easily communicate and build relationships.

Develop an influencer program for launch

To be successful in your business endeavors, you need to be able to tap into the vast network of other people’s communities. Make maximum use of your employees and the power of market influencers. Influencer marketing involves focusing on the influential people in your target market rather than the target market as a whole. It identifies the individuals who have an influence over potential customers and revolves the entire marketing scheme of the business around these influencers.

It is important to look for influencers who are passionate about the market niche and the industry in which your business operates. Look out for market influencers who not only have a lot of followers, but who also have the right audience that are motivated to adopt every product which they make available. Go for influencers who deliver value and who have a passion for helping others to succeed.

When reaching out to influencers, it is essential to consider the timing. Show them the respect they deserve and they would reciprocate in kind. Take the time to plan and execute a well detailed influencer strategy. You might risk the chances of your brand appearing as a spam which would be very easy for influencers to spot and make them to stay away.