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If You Don't Focus, Innovate and Evolve, You Die
After 128 years of business, a household word, Montgomery Wards, Inc., closed their doors forever and filed bankruptcy. With 258 stores and 28,000 employees in 30 states, Wards fell victim to competition from service-driven retailers like Wal-Mart,...
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Dialogue: The Key to Innovation
In many ways, today's Internet businesspeople are completely on their own. For some people, the lack of bosses, employees and co-workers is one of the reasons why they chose to enter e-commerce in the first place. Certainly, being able to chart your...
Employee Retention - Critical Skill at a Critical Time
Many of you have probably heard about the "pending" labor
shortage. The Herman Group predicts that by 2010, there will be
a shortage of over 10 million employees in the U.S. This is not
a problem that will magically appear in 5 years. The problem...
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Organizational Culture, Creativity, Innovation
It can be concluded with great certainty that certain organizational cultures inhibit creativity and innovation whilst others foster it. Some organizations are just better at identifying problems, generating and selecting valuable ideas and...
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The 10 Natural Marketing Advantages of Small Business - Small Is the New Big
Copyright 2005 John Jantsch
Large organizations are beginning to wrestle with the reality
that their markets want something more personal, more honest and
real, from the companies they buy products and services from.
It's obvious that small businesses possess natural advantages in
this arena, so the rush is on to think small.
Acting like a small business, it seams, is the latest killer
innovation.
Presenting the "10 Natural Marketing Advantages of Small
Business. "
So, the question is, are you leveraging your natural advantages?
Here's a look at the list.
1. Focus - In order to survive, most small businesses must adopt
a narrow market focus. In doing so, they can develop a premium
reputation for serving that narrow market.
2. Reach - Small business owners are so close to their markets
they can experience what their market experiences. They can
deliver CEO level experience to any size client who can connect
with a client better a 25 year veteran and author of two books
on the industry or two twenty something whiz kids from McKenzie?
3. Nurture - Small businesses can grow with customer needs.
Often, they can create products and services that address highly
personalized requests at a moments notice.
4. Surprise - The best small businesses understand the value of
surprising their clients from time to time. A simple interrupt
in the system can become a system for a small business.
5. Transform - Small businesses
can obtain new data from a
market, or even a client or two, and dramatically change their
business model to align with a new opportunity.
6. Partner - Smart small businesses create networks of strategic
partners and address the needs of their clients with the best
and brightest every time.
7. Automate - The proper use of technology allows small
businesses to put up big shop follow-up, service and prospecting
without the overhead. Plus, they can outsource the boring work.
8. Educate - Lacking big ad budget, small businesses must
educate their prospects before they can make any ground selling
them. This trust building process makes selling unnecessary and
delivers the ideal client relationships.
9. Meaning - Small business is personal. Markets are hungry for
businesses that allow them to connect to something beyond the
products and services. Small businesses can deliver a story that
has meaning.
10. Play - Why does someone start a business anyway - To get
more life, to develop a passion, to get free? It doesn't really
matter that freedom comes with an 80 hour work week. Passion and
purpose are sexy and contagious.
Think Big, Act Small!
About the author:
John Jantsch is a marketing coach and creator of the Duct Tape
Marketing System. You can get more information about the Duct
Tape System and download your free copy of "How To Create the
Ultimate Small Business Marketing System in 7 Simple Steps" at
http://www.ducttapemarketing.com
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