Three ways small business owners can outmaneuver big brands

So, you are a hustling small business owner. Growing your business, marketing, perhaps dealing with employees and all of that jazz.

Things are humming along, but then you notice you are in a David vs. Goliath situation. Bigger brands might be undercutting you. Or stealing your web traffic. Or writing angry notes on your car window (well…maybe not that).

The bigger company is outspending you and has 500 more employees than you do.

How do you become David and outmaneuver Goliath?

The short answer:   By being smarter, faster and cheaper.

1.) Outcreative-ing As Opposed To Outspending

Taking on Goliath by trying to buy more ads then him will never work. So what can you do instead? Where is the playing field leveled or giving you, the hustling entrepreneur, the advantage?

The answer: Creating compelling content.

And we are not talking about banner ads here. Your channel online to connect with customers and clients. Whether it be an online TV show, a blog bringing the most interesting articles in your niche or perhaps a Podcast, you have the opportunity to out-create.

The key to compelling content? Making it about your niche and not you. You might not be able to out buy, but you can out-educate, out-inspire and/or out-entertain Goliath.

Who is doing this? 37 Signals. In the words of 37 Signals’ David Heinemeier Hansson: “You can’t outspend, but you can out-educate.”

2.)  Be First:

Goliath has a lot of things to worry about. Sometimes it leads them to worry about the wrong things like how many lawyers to hire for the next lawsuit or whether every other Friday should be short shorts day at the office. That is a good thing.

Are you monitoring your niche online and not just your name and your company’s name? More importantly, if something pops up that is relevant, do you move in like Rambo and offer a thoughtful comment (I guess that isn’t exactly like Rambo…because your goal isn’t to kill people)?

Let’s pretend you are in the wedding flower business. you could have a Google Alert (or whatever Alert you want) setup for every time someone mentions “wedding flowers” or “wedding flower information” or “wedding flower questions” on the web. And then of course, you can leave an insightful comment on the blog or forum.

Who does this well? Dan Schawbel from Personal Branding Blog. Anytime something is mentioned that contains the words “Personal Branding,” Dan is all over it like a kid in a candy store.

Smallness is nimbleness. Use it wisely.

Please visit SmallBizTrends to read the rest of this article.