ARTICLE ARCHIVES Succeed With Personalized Services.
The advent of Internet has been touted as a driving force that will level the playing field for both big and small players. This expectation has now been met following a recent report, "Small guys thrive in global village" by Washington Post.
The report said that "small independent service providers, those with 1,000 to 15,000 subscribers and servicing up to 10 area codes, are not only surviving, they are thriving.
"Run by moonlighting doctors, bookstore owners, clergymen, retirees and, of course, computer wizards, several of the companies report annual profits of millions of dollars."
How can these small-time entrepreneurs succeed in a brave new world where other dot.com giants continue to lose millions of dollars each day?
The small service providers' secret to success has been old-fashioned personal service. "Many small providers said they make house calls to install the Internet software, provide training and troubleshoot problems for technology neophytes. And small-town users said they like knowing that if they have trouble, they can call the company president at any time."
This is a very important lesson for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. The giant dot.com companies may be able to reach out to every corner of the United States with their flashy deals and media blitz in cyberspace and traditional media like TV, prints and radio. But they can never replicate the type of personal service extended by the small guys.
It is one of the few tools we could use to compete successfully against the big guys. No matter what we are selling, we must say "no" to mass media advertising and put every dollar we have on marketing efforts directed at our immediate neighborhoods. For example, we can:
distribute our name cards and brochures to our local communities.
place classified ads in community newspapers and newsletters.
make house calls and provide on-the-spot training and technical support, if necessary.
participate in local social events and seize every opportunity to publicize our business, products or services.
seek free publicity from the local newspapers.
The above measures, if carried out properly, should ensure our success in our own turf. We should not follow the herd instincts and run our business in the same way as the big dot.com company - we simply do not have the financial resources to spend millions on advertising! Remember that small guys can thrive in the global village if they know how to play by their own rules.
