Insights on behavior of BIG companies and how small and midsize companies can compete with them. Every company (or division of a company) goes up against a LARGE competitor. How do you compete against a better known brand with deeper pockets and better resources that you do? If you are a midmarket or Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) your challenges are even bigger.

1. Beat Big Competitors!
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
1

2. DO YOU HAVE ANY OF THESE CHALLENGES?
•
•
•
•
Is your biggest competitor a BIG company?
Is your competitor a better known brand?
Does your BIG competitor have more ‘budget’ to beat you?
Does your BIG competitor have more resources than you do?
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
2

3. MARKETS YOU ADDRESS
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
3

4. BigCos prefer large segments & big price tags
Find niche markets big guys won’t bother with
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
4

5. Only 1000 companies - out of 6,000,000
businesses in America - are in the Fortune 1000.
Sell to small & midsize companies that many BigCos.
won’t bother with
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
5

6. Big Companies tend to ‘cherry pick’
big and high margin customers
Be a ‘pilot fish’ –
serve smaller
customers
(profitable with
your lower costs)
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
6

7. Your niche is one of many businesses for BigCo
Your niche is your business –
focus, focus, focus
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
7

8. Big Companies prefer mass markets (large
quantities) – good at scale & productivity
Specialize - niche products,
small batches
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
8

9. MARKETING
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
9

10. Big Companies look
BIG(duh!)
Look big
– technology, partnerships
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
10

11. Big companies(brands) build broad
market appeal - across country/world
Build your brand only in your focus markets
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
11

12. BigCos. very active in social media
Be active where your customers are – many
may not be on social media
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
12

13. Big Companies spend a lot on
marketing
Courtesy: melissagalt.com
Leverage their spend – extend their
message, ride their ‘spending’ coat tails
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
13

14. Big businesses tell ‘generalized’ stories
Tell your personal
story, share your
perspective, be
available (phone,
chat, email in-person)
and be consistent
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
14

15. “When it comes to using the internet, your discomfort with it is
irrelevant. If a competitor is leveraging the internet with tremendous
effectiveness, you have to respond – go online!”
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
www.expandOnline.biz
15

16. BigCos. have informative websites
So can you…..get some great templates and
build a great website – not very expensive
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
16

17. BigCos. target prospects well - have
hotshot MBAs, market research($$$)
Hire freelancers,
hire consultants,
find market
research on an
SMB budget ($)
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
17

18. PEOPLE
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
18

19. Big companies attract the ‘best’ talent
and pay better
•Hire ‘best’ talent that wants SMB atmosphere – right for you
•Hire seniors and part-timers locally (most big companies won’t)
•Start a ‘Best SMB to work for in YOURTOWN’ to draw attention
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
19

20. Big companies have tremendous
talent, and lots of them
Hire good temporary or part-time talent – stayat-home moms, SCORE execs, consultants,
freelancers (www.odesk.com, www. Fiverr.com)
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
20

21. Big companies have many leaders to
fight many battles
Develop good leaders who can ‘battle the big’
for you (www.nextCEO.com)
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
21

22. CUSTOMERS
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
22

23. Big companies have lesser
customer intimacy, esp.
with smaller customers
Focus on customer intimacy (take
good care of your few customers)
(see Best Practices of the German SMBs – Mittelstand)
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
23

24. COMPETITION
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
24

25. Big Companies not agile;
change is expensive
Be agile and adapt
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
25

26. Big Companies are ‘risk-averse’ to protect brand
Make waves- be daring
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
26

27. BigCos. have BIG overheads and operating costs
Stay ‘small’, spend ‘small’
& stay ‘hungry’(motivated)
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
27

28. Compete ONLINE (if you don’t already)!
“When it comes to using the internet, your discomfort with it is irrelevant. If a
competitor is leveraging the internet with tremendous effectiveness, you have to
respond – go online!”
- Check out www.expandOnline.biz
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
28

29. SALES
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
29

30. Big companies can take a loss on one product for a
long time while small competitor bleeds to death.
Compete on service & value with bigCo., not price
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
30

31. Big companies offer broad range of products/ services
Partner with other SMBs (or with
a large company) to offer broad
products/services
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
31

32. Big Companies usually sell complex & expensive
products that solve many problems
Sell one simple &
inexpensive product for
a specific need (happy
customers!)
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
32

33. BigCos. use resellers/VARs to sell to SMB customers
•Sell Directly to differentiate yourself
•Partner with the competitor’s competitor (another
big company) to reach more markets
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
33

34. Conquer ONLINE!
Take your
business
EVERYWHERE!
www.
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
.biz
34

35. Big Retailers have sophisticated eCommerce
platforms
You can leverage ‘readymade’ platforms with
sophisticated features – Amazon Webstore,
Magento templates, Shopify, Volusion – add apps.
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
35

36. INNOVATION
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
36

37. Big companies innovate on a schedule
Customer Intimacy + Incremental Innovation = Frequent releases
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
37

38. Big companies decide in
committees and operate
on schedules
zzzzzzz…….
Take the plunge while the ‘dragon’ sleeps
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
38

39. List of Links for the SMB/Midmarket Companies
Resources Lists
Consultants Lists
• Content (articles, presentations,
videos) on ‘Competing with Big
Companies’
• Market Research Resources
• Leadership Development
• Best Practices of German
Mittelstand
• Expanding Business Online
• Competing with Big Companies
Consultants
• E-Commerce Consultants
• Marketing Consultants
• Partnership Consultants
• Pricing Consultants
• List of all consultants
• List of Capital Providers
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
39

40. CONTACT US
Ram V. Iyer
President
Princeton, New Jersey
+1 (609)275-6300
info@businessthinking.com
Ram V. Iyer is the Founder & President of the Business Thinking Institute (www.businessthinking.com), a
Princeton, NJ-based organization that focuses on helping midsize companies, SMBs and those that serve them –
identifying important challenges and sharing solutions, tools, providers and events to help businesses overcome
their challenges.
Ram has traveled to over 35 countries and worked at client sites in 16 countries. He has experience in
manufacturing, operations, sales, strategy, marketing and entrepreneurship. He has worked at startups, small,
medium and large multinational companies. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan
School of Management. You can reach him at info@businessthinking.com.
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
40

41. Competing with Large Companies
You can download the
presentation at
www.beatBIG.biz
© 2014 Business Thinking Institute
41