Before establishing a company, it is important for every business owner to study the competition—to know how their competitors operate and to be aware of the industry trends and standards. This makes it easy to price their services and understand what marketing strategies work best in their industry, among others. Breaking into the market requires innovation and standing by your ideas, which doesn’t happen overnight. Behind any successful business are the idea of its origin and the belief that it is worth chasing. Small business owners perhaps wonder how to stay competitive in business when the likelihoods appear to be against them. Fortunately, there are a number of strategies on how to keep up with big brands. Proper marketing is key Aimable Nkuranga, a personal finance coach in Kigali, says that big businesses normally have the resources, leading one to believe that there’s no room for competition for small businesses in the same market. He says, big businesses have dedicated marketing teams, they are able to hire the best human resource team in the market and pay them very well. Small businesses can’t compete with the above. “While big businesses target the general public (millions of people) with their marketing campaign, small businesses can compete by targeting a specific segment of potential clients. By doing that, they won’t need huge marketing budgets,” he says. Use social media Nkuranga adds that there are some free marketing tools like social media, website, or direct referrals that can work very well. While big businesses have dedicated marketing departments, for small businesses, everyone is likely to do marketing because they are the company. Know your products Nkuranga says, everyone working in a small business should know all about their products and services so that they are able to sell them to potential clients. Offer great experience “Even though small businesses have limited resources, they can attract talent because they offer the best experience. In a small business, an employee is likely to do more than what is just in their job description,” Nkuranga says. He adds that everyone in a small business faces new challenges and is likely to go beyond their job description to find a solution to those challenges. This is because there is no other department they can refer to. Make use of new technology In a big business with established structures, employees are likely to do one thing every day. Small businesses are quick and more likely to test new technologies or processes, he says. Nkuranga also adds that with big businesses, the decision takes time and innovation is not quickly approved, because you have to go through supervisors, managers, directors, and the board, among others. This is an advantage to small businesses that are more dynamic and able to test new things quicker. Find your niche Hit into more specific categories of customers and offer exceptional products and services as a way to create a niche for your service. Shun trying to compete directly with large scale businesses that offer extremely wide varieties of products—it’s a hard effort, and you will find that these aren’t in your service, he points out. Reach out to other small businesses How about finding businesses that you can form partnerships with, in order to get an advantage on the competition for several reasons? You can actually offer promotions and special deals that work to the benefit of both companies, and to the community as well, Nkuranga suggests. He says, networking with other small businesses escalates your business’ publicity, builds your status within the local community advances engagement with local customers, and develops new and thrilling incentives that will develop your client list.
