Enemy of the State was one of my favorite movies. I’m a sucker for the little guy overcoming the big bad guy. The premise of the movie was the rouge government coming after the little guys (played by Will Smith and Gene Hackman) with all the bells and whistles at their disposal.
It looked like certain death for the duo, and then Gene Hackman’s character said something that’s stuck with me for years. He said, “You know in guerilla warfare you try to use your weaknesses as strengths…if they’re big and you’re small, then you are mobile and they are slow, you’re hidden, and they’re exposed.” By the end of the movie, the two underdogs had exposed the bad guys and saved the day.
It’s a shift in thinking. Shifting your perspective will serve you, your business, and your clients in major ways.
Here are 3 advantages you have over the big guys:
- You are personally accessible while they are not. Most big companies now have automated answering services. Very often you can’t speak to a live person when you need to.
With your small business, they get you (a live person) within a reasonable amount of time. When there’s a problem, you can help them more quickly. With the big companies, you might get someone who speaks broken English at best or an automated voice that really isn’t helpful at worst.
You have an investment and relationship with your client and that’s half the battle when dealing with issues or problems. - You can tailor your service to your client’s specific needs and wants. Big companies have to cater to the masses. This is where you can shine. You get to connect personally with your clients and exceed their expectations. This makes you a superstar and will get you more referrals to keep your business growing organically.
- You can show your client they matter to you. Bigger companies have large client bases. As a result, many of these clients feel like a number and have a customer number. With just a bit of extra effort and setting some systems into place, you can show your clients how important they are. For example, you can send a handwritten note when they reach a milestone, have a birthday, or some other special event in their life. The big guys can’t do that.
The personal touch is your superpower that big companies can’t compete with. If you combine this with superior customer service, you will leave your competition in the dust. You can be interactive and attentive when the big guys have a huge deficit in this area.
The next time someone asks you what makes you different from those who can provide the same service for less, what will you say? What other advantages of being small do you see?