BMI's clients and prospective-market business owners understand that they are always, at least in some way, competing against behemoth companies such as Amazon, McDonalds, Disney, and Walmart. Indeed, we regularly acknowledge that these mega-players continually frame and reset consumer expectations so that the little guy must step-up his game. However, they are under no illusions that they have to win on all fronts. The economies of scale and resources possessed by the biggest corporations in the market enable pricing strategies and customer service processes that are very difficult for SMEs to duplicate. So, instead, BMI's community leverages the advantages inherent in being smaller, such as greater local market intelligence, more agile management that can quickly pivot when market forces dictate change, and a passion for their product and service that pervades throughout their entire teams.
But, there's more: BMI's business community members understand that their sustainability and ultimate success does not depend on being able to beat the world's largest companies. They need only beat weak competitors of any size.
You know that old joke about not being able to outrun a grizzly bear? If not, consider this as your spoiler alert. The punchline reveals the somewhat coldhearted wisdom of one camper telling another that he doesn't have to outrun the bear, he only needs to outrun his fellow camper. We see this as an analogue for competing in business. Our businesses can flourish while grizzly-esque companies like Amazon gobble up the weakest competitors in the market. In fact, the biggest "predators" in the economy have a symbiotic relationship with well-managed SMEs. A carcass leftover by a grizzly provides ample residual nourishment for several other species lower on the food chain, such as coyotes, ravens, rodents, and insects. Similarly, while enforcing economic natural selection, corporate grizzlies leave significant remnants of market share available to be gained by the strongest SMEs.
The next time you become discouraged or disillusioned by the thought of trying to survive in a business environment dominated by economic apex predators, remember that you don't need to outrun the grizzly; you need only outrun the weakest members in the market. And, if you need some assistance in ensuring that your business is a strong competitor, reach out to BMI. Naively assuming that the human resources, marketing, administrative, accounting, customer service, and software strategies that you've always used will continue to suffice may be the metaphorical equivalent of wearing flip-flops around the campsite while BMI helps other campers lace up their running shoes!
- Michael J. Bickert