Fending Off Godzilla: How Small Businesses Survive
Big and small businesses can learn to live side by side, our Max Gulker said at a recent edition of our Summer Speakers Series.
Gulker spoke about his new research brief, which talks about his interviews with small business owners who found an advantage that helped them survive or thrive.
He rejected “the Godzilla theory, that these giant businesses are unleashed on a town,” and the small businesses in their path are helpless to fight back. And he also rejected the idea that small businesses need charity-style campaigns to survive.
While large businesses benefit from economies of scale, they lose the ability to be more nimble and innovative in responding to the needs of customers in a community, he said. That can take the form of responding to customer requests, moving more quickly to fulfill an order, building relationships with customers, and creating a market niche, he said.
In his presentation, which can see in the video above, or at this link, Gulker discusses how particular companies employed these methods to find success.
“A lot of people are going to want the cheaper, easier alterative. Some people are going to go for the relationship. The amount of people going for the relationship may not be enough to sustain a large business’ revenue, but it could be more than enough to sustain a few small businesses’ revenues,” Gulker said.
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