How Your Small Company Can Grow — Regardless of the Competition

If you’re a small business owner, chances are you’ve thought about ways you can compete with Amazon, Walmart, Target and the like. There’s no question that these major retailers have advantages: massive budgets, purchasing power and established customer bases, to name a few. However, that doesn’t mean your small company can’t thrive in a market that has a few giants. Here are some practical tips that can help your company effectively grow—no matter what kind of competition is out there:

 Get the funding you need.

 If you’re starting or running a business that requires a good amount of capital, you may need to consider getting a small business loan. There are many different types of small business loans, including:

 ●       Term loan

●       Short-term loan

●       SBA loan

●       Merchant cash advance

●       Business line of credit

●       Equipment financing

●       Invoice financing

 In order to determine what type of loan will work best for your situation, you need to evaluate how much you will need and whether your credit is great, decent or poor. For instance, many businesses that are already established and profitable opt for an SBA loan. Those with a bad credit score who are opening a business will often only qualify for a cash advance.

 Consider dropshipping.

 If you’re entering (or are already in) the ecommerce world, one way you can compete with major competitors is to start a dropshipping business. Some companies base their entire company around dropshipping, while others simply add a dropshipping component to bring in some extra income.

 Dropshipping is relatively low-risk. Not only does it costs little to no money for overhead, but there is no need to keep a large physical inventory of product. With dropshipping, you basically order an item from your supplier when a customer purchases it from your website and have the supplier ship it directly to the customer (with your company’s name and address on the label). There are many different types of items you can offer from your dropshipping business, so make sure you research to choose which ones would make sense for your company to sell.

 Stand out

 No matter the size of a retailer, it’s essential that a customer can count on stability. However, whereas many large companies must strive to remain predictable, smaller companies have more leeway to be fun, creative and surprising. Make your business stand out. For example, involve your employees in brainstorming and decision making, develop unconventional marketing techniques, and offer unique product packaging.

 Stay flexible

 Unlike major retailers, smaller companies have the ability to change course quickly when it comes to the goods and services they offer. One of the most important things you can do as a business owner is to remain flexible; that is, stay knowledgeable of market conditions and be willing to change as they change.

 As staying connected with your customers helps you to maintain your customer relationships, regularly tracking their preferences and interests will help you understand what your company should offer to keep them coming back. Many companies find it beneficial to periodically ask their customers for feedback on their goods, services, website and so on.

 Another way businesses can stay flexible is in how they handle their workforce. For example, if it’s the holiday season or you have a product with spiking demand, you can hire temporary warehouse workers through a staffing agency. Some staffing companies will screen employees and handle payment processing so you don’t have to. 

 Large retailers like Amazon don’t appear to be going anywhere. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean your business can’t do well. If you need funding, be sure to evaluate your situation, and research to see what type of business loan is best for you. Consider dropshipping to add some cash flow, and be sure to take advantage of your company’s smaller size by standing out among the crowd and staying flexible to changes. If you implement tips like these, your company can enjoy successful growth for years and years to come.

 Photo Credit: Burst