There are a lot of more established, more powerful giant companies in your industry. They have a lot of resources, older, better funded and branded, and more matured with experience. Competing against them, is it the end for you?
No. The Goliath is big, but your David is nimble.
Corporate behemoths certainly have a lot you of things you don't have, and they can pose a lot of treat to your small company with their advantages. But for your business that is still small and young, it starts with your mindset: a good entrepreneur is someone that creates something out of nothing, aiming for customers by answering their needs.
No business built by good entrepreneurs should be built with a goal to defeat the giants in the first place.
However, as your business started to grow, you may see those giants closing on you - threatening you. You may see that they're not pleased with your existence because your market is the same as theirs. If your goal is to defeat them by doing what they do, that is the first trap you'll fall into.
Competing in the arena they've created and thrived, your David will only have a slightest chance to survive. You need some strategies to win some points, and below are some you can follow:
Imitate, But Do Better
More established companies have significantly larger number of customers. To steal from them, you need to pay attention to where their customers are residing. Be it on social media, online forums, Q&A websites or others, you need to be there, too.
One you know where your competitors' customers are, you can seek opportunities to win them by adding value to the existing solution. So for example, if your competitors are responding to social media superficially, you can offer more in-depth answers with ways people can contact you easily.
The disadvantage of many large companies regarding to how they respond to their customers, is the lack of personalization. Big companies need to appeal to everyone, and this means they don't usually offer customized solution to certain individuals.
Small businesses on the other hand, can be very good in appealing individuals' needs. They can offer custom solutions, unique answers with human customer service representatives.
So if you want to steal customers from bigger competitors, you need to focus on what your competitors can't (or won't) do.
Do What You Do Best
Bureaucracy and protocols can be the good things that keep everything managed. But those are also the main weaknesses of large corporations. The more layers a business has between the people that decide and the people that interact directly with customers, the less the company's decisions can answer the market's current needs.
Many people want answers, and they want them now. Big businesses tend to have difficulties regarding this.
For small businesses, the owners can still interact and engage directly with customers. This face-to-face interaction can be a huge advantage because customers know that they are speaking directly with someone in charge of the business; they know that they will be heard.
When it comes to marketing, this little thing can give your small business a key advantage over your giant competitors.
And by having a close relationship with your customers, you can also get more thorough insights into the motivations of your audience, in ways better than bigger companies with their marketing teams.
Having Friends In High Places
It's all about influence. A small company on its own, may not have much power in the market. They shout, but their voice can't be heard. But if your company can make good impressions on influencers, depending on your business, those influencers can help you big time.
Small businesses tend to have less exposure due to their nature and limited resources. Large enterprises usually have a lot of exposure, and competing with them directly without a backup, won't give you advantages in the market.
By having influencers on your back, a right mention from them to the right audience, can turn your relatively unknown product into a must-have item.
No matter how small or young or inexperienced your business is, it's never too late to recruit supporters from high places.
Adapting To Changes Quickly
If your business is like a compact car, is there any chances for it to win if it's pitted against a tank? If your more-established competitor is the tank, you won't be able to beat it by direct confrontation.
With a much bigger posture, heavier, armored and armed, a car that is charging heads on to a tank is considered squashed.
But the thing is, a tank, while it drives quite fast, it isn't that nimble. Put it on a narrow track with tight turns, the massive tank will struggle to keep up. The small car that represents your business, is faster in terms of adapting to the courses: it can change lane, stop or go to full speed with better effectiveness, less energy (power), less environmental damage and without much to sacrifice.
Small businesses are also able to spot any changes more quickly. Owners can call their employees to change the direction of the company instantly. This level of flexibility is the advantage of smaller companies that no giant companies can hope to match.
While changes in the market can the troublesome for your small company, you should at least see them as an opportunity for the greater goods.
Conclusion
Competing with giant companies while you're still small, seems to be a hopeless scenario. But actually, if you know what to do and when to start, you can turn the table to them and get the upper hand.
Its advised that you should never compete with giants at their own game. Instead, go to places where they can't or aren't willing to go. Their weaknesses are your advantages, and when the time is right, you can unleash your full strength to slay the Goliaths.
Related: Smaller Websites Competing With Larger Websites: Never Go Down Without A Fight