Competing with Walmart

Smile!

info@lynchinteractive.com — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 04:25:00 -1200

Such a simple thing, a smile. There are plenty of reasons not to smile, the economy sucks, Wall Mart is opening another store down the street, Home Depot just put your stuff on sale at a loss, customers are shopping price and you can't compete. Yes we all get it, it's actually really easy not to smile. I didn't even get into the bills and payroll and money. There are so many more reasons not to smile than to smile, or is there?

In my web development business the above statement is certainly true. There are challenges and obstacles all along the way. But I keep going because I believe deep down I'm helping people. When you smile you project a positive attitude, you make people around you feel better, you make them think "if he's smiling, there must be something good going on in his company", or better yet, keep smiling no matter how challenging your business is going and they'll wonder what your secret to success is.

Web based businesses and phone based businesses are no different. If you are smiling it does not matter if people are there in front of you or not, they can tell. A smile projects a positive attitude and that projection will come through, on the phone, in an email, your next Facebook post or whatever you are doing, you have to stay positive.

The reasons to stay positive must certainly outweigh the obstacles and challenges you face. You have the opportunity to solve problems and overcome those obstacles, you enjoy that challenge and you are up to the task. You don't work for a Big Box Store and your customers get value from knowing you.

We all remember the Saturday Night Live skits with Stuart Smalley and the Daily Affirmations. It was funny and people discount that aspect of verbalizing positive thoughts. When it seems like there's a lot going against you and there are challenges and pitfalls and risks involved, every once in a while it doesn't hurt to remind yourself why you are doing it. If you don't stay positive, the results will be another statistic, another failed small business and another victory for the Big Box Stores.

I don't know what the answer is for you to find that niche, but I do know that keeping a positive mental attitude is the only thing that all success stories have in common. Smile!

Make a Plan - and Stick To It!

info@lynchinteractive.com — Tue, 17 May 2011 03:27:00 -1200

Easier said than done, right? We all have great plans and ideas and then everyday life creeps in and takes up all your time. This blog is a great example of this. In a perfect world I would have posted something new every week but it's turning out to be once a month.

O.K. my new plan is to post a new article every week!

One advantage large companies have is that they have people who do nothing but plan. They put together training manuals and procedure manuals, they have an annual promotional calendar, advertising schedules and marketing plans. That is one of the secrets of their success...put it on auto-pilot and let the people who work for you execute the plan. It's like a giant money machine, set the dials, stick resources into one end and out the other end comes the cash.

Small businesses could do all of the same things. There is nothing stopping you from putting together procedure manuals and a marketing plan, except your best customer who just called and needs something right away, and your car needs to get in to be serviced and ... and ... and!

Here are a couple of things to help you on your way:

Plan your Work and Work your Plan - basically stated, you have to have a plan and you have to follow the plan. It is entirely possible that your plan will allow for certain deviations and adaption, and certainly it's important as a small business to be agile and adjust as market conditions change, but, your plan should account for that. A good plan is not a stiff, strict step by step program; A good plan is to identify where you want to go, the methods and actions needed to get there and the milestones you set to measure your progress.
Set aside time each week - make sure you plan to have time in your week to work on your plan. That might mean setting aside Friday afternoon when things get slow, coming in early on Monday to get the week started. This time is for you to think about what is happening in your business, what you could do better, and how you are going to do it. Make some time for yourself.
Set Goals - If you don't have any goals or targets to shoot at, you won't hit them. Goals can be really simple things like "I'd like to sell a million dollars this year" or "I'm going to get my website updated". Write down your goals, share your goals with other people, in other words, commit to your goals. I once read a study about goals and the percentage of those that were achieved based on writing them down and not writing them down. I don't have the study but the percentage was much higher for the written down goal achievement. Set goals in writing.

Writing all of this down reminds me, I've got a plan to work so I better get busy!

Poco a Poco - (Little by Little)

info@lynchinteractive.com — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 06:11:00 -1200

So the other day someone asked "where do I start" and "How do I get there"? the answer is you start one step at a time, and you get there by making planned incremental steps in the direction of your goal!

Wow, that was easy! Let’s take it another level. When we are faced with new competition from a major player what should we do, how should we react? Certainly pretending nothing has changed will yield some disastrous results. There is a famous saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I would further add that insanity is doing a 180 on a dime and making hasty decisions. That's why I recommend making changes little by little.

This post doesn't even necessarily apply to new competition from Big Box Stores, it could be any number of challenges you face in the day to day operation of your business. The thing is that if you flip flop from day to day and never systematically measure changes you won’t know what worked and didn’t work. There’s another old saying in the advertising business, that only 50% of advertising works, the only problem is figuring out which 50%. It’s complicated because everything you do affects everything else. In the old days of newspaper, radio, TV and billboards if someone heard your radio ad did that make them more likely to use the coupon in the paper? (Probably).

So now we’re in a world where there is social media, online ads, organic search traffic, your own website, your brick and mortar store, all of your traditional advertising and so much more. We can track things much more accurately in the online world, but what we can’t track is the impact one impression has on an action being performed. The reason I point this out is that we should not over-react but instead pursue a systematic and planned series of steps designed to get us to our eventual goal.

The first thing we need to do is set a goal then! Goals need to be written down and they need to be tangible. We want to increase sales by 50% or we want to establish 10 new distributors or something we can measure. Once we’ve set that goal we can come up with a series of steps that will help us get there. Once we have a goal and a series of steps to get there, we won’t be prone to 180 degree shifts or rash decisions.

Make Someone Happy

info@lynchinteractive.com — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 06:35:00 -1200

Think about why you got into the business you are in. Was it because you had a chance to make a lot of money really fast or was it a passion of yours. Customers can see these things in the way you do business, and they want to do business with people that have passion. Odds are that if you got into a business just to make a quick buck, you are a good target for the big box stores. If you have a passion for your business you'll be on the cutting edge, you'll tell customers about things before your competitor, you'll help them be the smartest and best at their particular passion. Helping your customers will help you!

Notice that I did not say anything about online or in person, or a physical newsletter vs. email newsletter. The bottom line is that people want to work with people with passion and that can come through both in person and online. This all sounds nice but what about a practical example of what I mean?

If you sell running shoes and have a passion for running, you will know the different between pronating and supinating(I think). You will be able to tell a customer which shoes they should wear for each condition, and possibly even tell them more about it. You will have personal opinions about shoes and recommendations based on experience. When you go to Walmart you will be lucky to get any help at all, just an isle full of shoes. If you go online to one of the major retailers you are likely to get a lot of good information, even opinions and reviews, but not likely to get that personal service.

I'm not saying that a small retailer of shoes shouldn't have a website, exactly the opposite! A website is the repository for all of that knowledge and advice, it's the place the customers can go 24/7 and it's also a place where you can give them that personal service, either via an online form/email or over the phone. It's all about the tone and perspective you bring to the business and how well you communicate that to customers and prospective customers.

What makes people happy is to feel special, to feel like they are the center of attention, and to get the information they want. The internet provides us with a lot of tools to make people feel special but the beginning starts with your passion, and your ability to communicate that passion in a meaningful way to customers. Thing about what would make you happy, what would you expect and then take a look at what you are delivering.

Why I Believe in the Long-Term Viability of the Small Market Business in a Post-Walmart World

info@lynchinteractive.com — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:07:00 -1200

At Lynch Interactive we work with small to mid sized companies in all aspects of their online presence, from design and program through marketing and promotions. I've decided to write this blog to give people an understanding of how the Internet has fundamentally changed how we do business, while at the same time traditional marketing concepts and practices are still critical to the process.

As the title indicates, "Competing with Wallmart" is the bottom line goal for everyone who runs a small business. The idea that a faceless and nameless entity can move to your town and without any effort at all wipe out many small merchants is unsettling to say the least. So what's the first thing you should do?... Don't shop at Wallmart! Of course that's easier said than done, since Wallmart is the figurative head of the "Big Box Store" enemy we are all doing battle with, and what we really mean is Wallmart, Costco, Home Depot, Target and a host of other BBS companies. Face the facts, they wouldn't be as big or as powerful as they are if they didn't meet consumers needs and demands. They provide a service at a price that people demand. Now your job is to figure out why people should keep buying from you, what is their motive, demand, and need? How are you different? What services, knowledge or products do you offer that they can't, or don't?

The answers to these questions lye at the heart of the issues faced by small business in America today. The answer is different for every single business out there, and for some businesses the answer is either not enough or comes too late, but the challenge of running a successful small business has not changed, we're just chasing a different windmill these days.

Listen to Your Customers

info@lynchinteractive.com — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 07:25:00 -1200

Sounds like the simplest answer in the world, LISTEN.

What are you listening for? Answers to questions that will help guide you through the maze of obstacles in competing in a complex environment of major corporate players and box stores both online and in the retail world.

The business world has changed dramatically from the days when there was a clear path to success, open a store, stock the shelves with X, Y, and Z and then invite the neighborhood to come in and buy your products. Those days are gone, people have choices, there's more than just the big box stores, there's also the Internet. Do you consider Amazon a big box store or are they and e-commerce site, or more likely a big box e-commerce site. They all have virtually unlimited resources and they want to sell everything to everybody. There you sit, trying to compete with these companies that have seemingly unlimited resources.

The down side to large corporate entities like Amazon and Walmart is that its difficult for them to hear individuals, no one person has a voice that can be heard, and there is your opportunity! People will tell you what they want or need, all you have to do is listen and then deliver. The ability of these large stores to turn on a dime and adjust their offering is nearly impossible, any change requires months or years to take effect. Small business people have the ability to make it happen right now. This is key in your ability to compete!

So step 1 has to be asking people to tell you what they want. There are a variety of ways you can do this:

Random conversations and input from direct client contact
A survey of existing clients specifically designed to identify what clients like and what they would like from your business

Naturally you are not going to start with a blank slate and change from plumbing supply to stationery overnight, so we know what your business is and probably quite a bit about that industry. You probably have existing customers that you could survey, and you can test theories out on your website to see how people respond. These are all different ways of getting customers to tell you what they want. It's an ongoing process, not a one time occurance. The marketplace if a fluid, ever-changing world where entire industries come and go in a matter of years or months. Compare that to 50 years ago when a business took 5-10 years just to get going.