If you are running any kind of business, there is always competition. There are huge companies out there that would love to squash you like a bug. For instance, no matter what you are offering, Amazon probably offers it as well. The big internet companies almost all started as little guys, and they built empires from doing a lot of the stuff right. This tempts a lot of newer, smaller online businesses to copy them.
Don’t Ruin Your Business by Copying the Big Guys Video
This is not an entirely bad idea. The Big Guys are dedicating a lot of money to figuring out why customers do what they do. They obviously have found a recipe for success. But there are a few things that you should absolutely not copy. Here are a few ways to completely destroy your small business by acting like a large one. Don’t try these at home!
Mistake #1 Requiring registration to buy.
Why not require registration? Customers hate it. They simply despise it. Who wants to give out their mother’s maiden name just to buy a child’s toy? No one. Many customers will tolerate this from big companies because they know and trust them—and they know that they will be back, so the registration will save time in the long run. They don’t know that about your small business! Also, many customers are willing to put up with a certain amount of crap just to get the bargain basement price that these big guys offer. But you aren’t even going there, because of my next point:
Mistake #2 Undercutting prices.
Even though it may be tempting and the only solution – never fight price wars! You cannot offer a lower price than the big guys. The Big Guys take their huge buying power and use it to strong-arm suppliers into giving them a great deal. They are paying less than you, have larger sales volume than you, and thus can afford to give a great price. Offering the best price and staying in business will not be possible for the small guys because we don’t have the size and leverage that you need to be a bully. We have to find other reasons for customers to choose us.
Mistake #3 Stepping out of your niche.
As I said before, and you have probably noticed this as well, Amazon offers everything. It is one of many websites offering everything—Costco.com and Overstock both specialize in selling wide ranges of products. You might look around at all these Big Guys offering everything and get the idea that this is a good business model for the small guys. But it isn’t, and here’s why: you can’t afford it. Marketing to the masses is expensive, but that does not mean you should give up. People coming to your website are not looking for everything; they are looking for one thing. Niche sales allow you to be very targeted in marketing and inventory. Even Amazon started small, with just books. Once you are a Big Guy, you can expand; until then, stick to what you know.
Mistake #4 Not building trust.
If you look around the Big Guys’ websites, you might notice a few things missing. For instance, some times there is no SSL certificate, no BBB accreditation, and generally no trust marks. This might lead you to assume that you don’t need these. Don’t get me wrong. Some sites do have such marks. The problem is: people already trust the Big Guys. They don’t need any extra assurance. You, on the other hand, are unknown. They need to understand why they can trust you. So offer them proof that you are trustworthy, in the form of visible site security and other trust marks.
So although it is nice to look at the big guys and learn a few marketing lessons from them, it would be prudent to know what your limitations are and ensure you do not make the above mistakes.
