Be Small, Think Big and Get Ready

By Doug  Stephens

I subscribe to Chris Anderson’s point of view.   We truly are entering the golden age of small business.  And while Anderson says “It might not feel that way to a lot of small businesses”, there are enough clear signs to suggest that the landscape is dramatically changing.

Being a small retailer will no longer be a disadvantage – in fact, just the opposite.  The enormous scale that gave brands like Home Depot and Wal Mart their efficiencies through the 1990’s and 2000’s, will become increasingly burdensome as they struggle to respond to new trends and changing economics.  Small retail, on the other hand, can and should quickly and nimbly adapt and shift to capitalize on opportunities.

In short, the age of “mass” in North America is coming to an end.  Mass communication, mass consumption, mass media, mass everything will be over.  As Julien Smith, co-author of  Trust Agents puts it, mass media was a “fad” in the course of history. People were meant to converse, not broadcast.  Our interests, relationships, media choices and consumer preferences are increasingly selective and niche in nature.

Beyond social change, small retailers can also benefit from quantum improvements in technology.   They now have access to cost efficient store systems as well as a range of hosted software solutions.  Other technologies like Skype and Google Docs are allowing small businesses to enjoy for free what less than a decade ago big companies spent a fortune on.  Being small never felt so big!

Finally, social media has endowed small business with the power to establish their own channels, spread their unique propositions and develop their own “tribes” of loyal customers.  Gone are the days of being shut down by deep-pocketed competitors who could buy out entire media formats.  In fact, some of the most popular social media channels began as simple conversations.

It all adds up to opportunity for great independently owned retail, the likes of which we haven’t seen for at least 25 years.  But as always, there’s no free ride, no guarantee of success.  The surest way to earn your place in the future is by standing apart from the pack, being remarkable and thoroughly indispensible to the customers who love you.