No one competes against only a local market in the modern world. You can do anything online. Even a simple task like buying underwear and shaving cream has been hit by the Internet.
I like to think about the world as it was before technology consumed us. Ironically, I live and breathe technology – but those days feel like they would have been simpler. Most towns were small then. The General Store was probably the only place within 20 walking miles that you could buy what you needed. The concept of competition then was pretty marginal compared to what it is today.
Maybe you lived in a city, with a thriving market that drove competition between businesses. There might be a half dozen bars (saloons? taverns? pubs?), a handful of vendors selling fruit, fish, or livestock, and a fletcher, blacksmith, tailor. If you were competing against anyone in those days, you knew them. Personally. You might not get along because of this professional rivalry, but in terms of our modern world you were neighbors.
No matter what it is you do now, there is a huge level of competition for doing it. Hand crafted jewelry? There’s a website that allows thousands of people to sell theirs online. You grow fruit? Dozens of fruit stands, supermarkets, the Internet, co-ops. The list goes on.
No one is competing on a local playing field. Sure, some people might prefer to buy from a local brick and mortar store. An even smaller percentage of those people might even prefer to buy from a locally owned store. The large majority? They want the best and most convenient deal.
Which makes for tough competition for the small business owners. Wal-Mart and other box stores can take a slight drop in profit margin on some products in order to beat the competitor’s price. The small business owner can’t – that means less food on his table.
So Everyone Already Knows This
Yeah, ask any small business owner and they’ll look at you like you’ve been living in the Little House on the Prairie for the past century and a half. Of course competition is fierce in today’s world. What are they to do? Setup shop in a third world country?
That is one option, actually. I’m amazed we haven’t heard of more small businesses jumping on this concept. There are places in the world where people don’t have three computers in the house. No big screen televisions. No iPads and cell phones.
You want a market ripe for disruption? Move out of the United States. It doesn’t even have to be a third world country. There are places around the world which are not so far developed as the USA in which the standard of living is still within our tolerable norm. These are places where a dollar still means more than a pack of gum or a quarter gallon of gas, where you won’t be afraid to drink the tap water, where you’ll be able to get a land line to connect with your relatives back home. You won’t be competing against three dozen local businesses, a half dozen box chains, and hundreds of online companies.
Most importantly, you’ll be an asset to their economy and lifestyle. These places could benefit from the savvy that small business owners have. From their dollars and their sense.
Short of moving to another country, how can small businesses stay competitive?
There is really one answer to this: Get online!
If you aren’t utilizing the power of a website, of social media, of search engines then you are missing out on competition. It’s the rough equivalent of not putting a sign up that says “General Store.” No one can find you.
If you’re a small business struggling to succeed in a global world and you aren’t online, you’re going to fail.
Contact me if you need help finding an online business solution. Or, if you want to talk about third world countries or the 1840s, I’m down for that as well.