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A high school friend of mine lost his business to competition from Amazon. He could not compete on price so his business got more and more unprofitable and eventually closed. Had I known, I would have given him this suggestion. It might have helped.
When confronted by any business that is slowly killing your you’ve got to give your customers something that the competition can’t. And that is an experience of enjoying doing business with you. In my friends case I would have suggested creating the New England Shopping Train. His store was an old general store in a quaint town. He might have gotten together with other businesses and made a website, brochures, advertising that billed the ‘Trail’ as a fun place to visit and go from store to store, restaurant to restaurant, where to buy your gas or recharge your cat.
Are you now seeing what we mean when we say offer an experience. Along the way people could stop at antique stores, restaurants, places of interest, general stores as they travel along the trail.
My friends business was in rural Southern New England so it would make sense to advertise in in Boston and maybe even New Your city. In the winter months it could include skiing, places to stay, shops shops where skiing gear and clothing could be purchased. The possibilities are endless only limited by the imagination of the businesses along the ‘trail.’ Unfortunately, we’ll never know if this suggestion would have been taken seriously or rejected outright. But the concept is a good one. When confronted of losing your business because you can’t compete on price offer what your competition can’t.
Your a hardware store, you say, offer free classes in painting, home maintenance and put on sale the tools needed to do what the class teaches.
You’re a coffee shop? Bring in a business networking group and they will buy coffee and pastry. Do the same for a writer’s group and a readers group.
See how this works? Yes your core business, yes of course, then ask what else can I do to get business in here? Can I offer classes, can I attract groups to my facility for mutual benefit? Answer those questions and you can beat the competition because you will be offering something that they can’t.
Wayne A. English, author and retired business owner is a Connecticut native residing in Coventry with his wife and daughter, boasts a diverse writing portfolio spanning local, national, and international publications, alongside five published books and contributions to both online and print mediums. Wayne shares his knowledge through teaching engagements encompassing writing, business, marketing, web content creation, and website design. Read full interview…