The Monday Nut

Seth Godin is one of my favorite reads and recent events with a local fight over a new Wal-Mart has had me thinking about one of his catch phrases…How can small businesses beat Wal-Mart or for that matter, any local large store. Simple…”do something remarkable.”

So…how hard is remarkable?  Well, let’s take a look at a couple things that drive consumers crazy about large stores and are easy for small stores.

1. Answer your friggin phone.  I watched my wife spend four minutes yesterday talking to the automated menu at Sears trying to reach the service department. By the way, the automated teller does not seem to understand certain, um, “words.”  Her frustration is common.  Consumers like talking to people, even when they are in a bad mood and normally respond very well to human contact.  Example: I used to run email campaigns where I put my name and telephone number for clients to call with questions/comments.  Unheard of practice at the time…I had a guy call me, and once he realized he was actually talking to the guy who sent the email, he cussed me out pretty good for invading his privacy. But then, he said “I have a problem.” I was trying very hard to smile and be nice and asked him what I could do to help.  “I really need what you are selling.” I was happy to sell it to him, but I also told him he didn’t get the discount for being so grumpy.  I was kidding of course, but he actually agreed to it.  So, a couple things to remember.  Answer the phone.  Be nice…But also understand that many of us aren’t used to talking to a human being on the phone, so be patient if we press buttons while you are talking.

2. Know your product.  Sure, I go to Home Depot for some stuff cause its cheaper. But when it comes time to do something real around the house, I go to Kovarik’s Hardware because they actually know what the hell they are talking about. And they are friendly about it. They even smile when you say, well the guy down at Home Depot said, tenderly take you by the arm and lead you away from the Golden Calf and into the Promised Land.

3. Offer specials to “community members.”  Let me give you a quick example.  The local health food/supplement store has classes on cooking, good health, vitamins, and so on that they hold every week.  Sure, they don’t get mega church numbers at these classes, but they get good numbers and people who appreciate the knowledge being passed down to them.  The guy stocking the vitamin shelves at Wal-Mart can’t spell “Vitamin C” but knows “its the one with the oranges on it!” I don’t think the local health food store has that much to worry about.  People who use their services know that the few extra dollars they will spend are worth it.

So, a couple things to think about.  I really believe that most small stores can actually thrive in towns where Wal-Mart’s come a knockin.  Some parts is hard.  Some parts is not.  But, why the hell would you be in business for yourself if you weren’t willing to do the hard parts?

Would love to hear other ideas!