How to Beat Competitors that Are Bigger Than You by InsideView

[Doha]

Comparing ourselves to some seemingly unobtainable conglomerate in our industry is not all that uncommon.  As aspiring entrepreneurs, we've all looked at someone doing what we desire to do and said, "One day, my company is going to be that big and successful."

But, what does it really take to compete on their level?

Right off the top, it takes money and lots of it. Big businesses have marketing and sales budgets that can dwarf what most of their smaller competitors earn. They have whole departments, within other departments, focused on ruling every aspect of their business with the type of iron fist we'd only expect to see in a mafia movie.

So, how do we overcome this adversity and position ourselves to not just compete, but beat these giants at their own game?

With the Internet, websites, blogging, video sharing, and social media, the playing fields have never been as level as they are right now for both the big and small company. To best utilize these new millennium tools, let's take a look at five interesting angles we can implement into our daily businesses as we compete with the biggest players in our respective industries.
Target that thing you do better than the giants.
What a giant does best is leave a shadow. Our job is to step out from the shade and position our strengths, whatever they may be, in the minds of our target audience. The key is to identify our added benefits while revealing that our strength is actually our giant's weakness.
For example, if we offer products made in a specific area, a buyer from that area might choose our product over one manufactured outside the area because the profits go to support the local community. Or perhaps we have nimble and personal customer service teams, offer quicker delivery, or simply care more about the little details. Rather than trying to compete with the big dogs in their fields of expertise, we need to educate our prospects about the benefits of working with us.
What this technique does is plant a seed in the mind of our prospects that we have the upper hand when it comes to their best interests.
Be unique.
Our brand has its own unique values and opinions. Whatever those may be, they are ours. We are not under the thumb of some corporate board sitting up in some ivory tower, and that means we are able to express our values without censorship.
We can use this freedom to position our company as a thought leader; a company set up to be small enough to offer unique solutions for unique people, but efficient enough to scale up to fit any unique needs.
Put flexibility and customer service on top of the menu.
One thing big business lacks is flexibility. Changes in large organizations mean new costs, and if they are going to keep those big budgets and turn in the highest possible return, they constantly have to cut costs. Unfortunately, this is why they tend to spend so much time unfocused on the individual customer and instead invested in finding ways to balance their PNL.
While profit and loss are a legitimate businesses concern, our smaller firm can implement the beneficial changes our customers request and remember as beneficial to their experience, for a fraction of the cost. This allows us to jump ahead of the giants while devoting the time and energy needed to outdo the big boys in the customer service portion of our business.