But Sam Walton Said… You Aren’t Walmart!
December 5th, 2024 by Diane Conklin under Business - General, Business Strategy. No Comments.
One of the things that can be frustrating is when a business owner says, “yea but my business is different.” (I call that having the Yea Buts and my clients know better than to say that to me)
On one hand, every business is different and on the other, they aren’t.
If you start trying to do what Walmart does, you will more than likely be out of business in a relatively short period of time because you don’t have the same buying power they do.
And, if you think price is the one and only factor people buy on, you probably need to talk to more people.
We all know people who will spend $100 on something and not give it a thought and we also all know people who look for every discount and way to save money under the sun…those may, in fact, be the same person – we all know people like that.
My point is simply this…people do not buy on price alone. There are other factors that come into play.
I’ll use myself as an example. I have no idea how much bananas are a pound or what a dozen eggs cost at the grocery
store. When I want or need those things I buy them. I’m not driving to multiple stores or halfway across town to save a few cents. I don’t know that the gas I just put in my SUV was the cheapest I could have gotten it. I put gas in when I need it and when I’m out and about and there is a gas station in the area.
My point here is that I, like other people, don’t put price as the number one thing I look at when I spend money. That being said, I don’t want to pay double for something I can get at the store next door for half either.
As a small business owner, you probably can’t always compete on price. The good news is you don’t have to.
If you give me a great product, I love, that I can’t easily find elsewhere, I will buy it from you. For example, I’m a big fan of Bombas brand socks, and I pay a premium for them because they last so long, and they are so comfortable. The only way to buy them is online at their website so that’s where I get them from.
If you give me an amazing experience, either while I’m buying, afterwards, or at some point in the process, I will be a loyal customer and come back to buy from you over and over again – and probably never look elsewhere for a cheaper price. I have a company I buy my fitness lycra tights from that make it so fun to get them there that I just always go there to buy them.
I could go on and on, but I hope you get the point.
When you can’t compete on price, then look to other things that you can control to make a unique customer experience, treat people in a memorable way, add an incentive or bonus they can’t get anywhere else that they want or do something else to keep people coming back to you over and over again.
What is it about you that makes buying or doing business with you fun?
If you need help figuring this out, reply to this email and let’s chat…
To Your Success –
