Who’s Afraid of the
Big Bad Wolf-Mart?

Little guys can build brick houses that
don’t get blown away by big marts
and big-box clubs.

The platitude that “competition is healthy” doesn’t cut it when a retailer hears another super-duper-mart or big-boxer club is coming to town. Fear that he may be eaten by a wolf-mart is well founded. Unless he’s built a brick house he can defend, he may indeed be lunch. It is not without precedent.

Recently a city planning board approved a super Wal-Mart on the edge of its 100-year old downtown retail area. The many objectors at public hearings could not deny the inevitable. The allure of income from new jobs and taxes plus a powerful magnet to draw shoppers, had city fathers salivating.

So Wal-Mart, as it has with so many others, had its way with the fair city. Some retailers looked on the event not as the consummation of a good marriage, but as the screwing of their business.

One business owner tried to organize a protest.

As an obit to its demise, he staged a funeral procession through the old retail district. The stunt got more press than participants. Only one mourner joined him for his march and the photo opportunity at the end.

This same guy instead of hollering “Uncle,” and just getting back to business, took time to post his objections in a long letter to the Editor. One of his points was,”Wal-Mart will attract the wrong kind of people.” Wow! You can imagine the reaction from all us folks who ever saved a buck by shopping Wal-Mart?

Now, in this same city there’s an independent appliance retailer nicknamed Skip. A few years back instead of a having a panic attack when the first discounters started to circle the city, Skip moved his family business to the edge of town. He plopped his store right in the middle of his new competitors. They drew traffic and he jumped in the fast lane.

A few months ago, this same little guy with the gonads for greatness accepted without a tremor the grand opening of a huge Best Buy less than a mile away on the same highway.

After the opening he told a reporter, “We’ve waged this war before, and won. Silo, Dee’s, American Appliance, even Crazy Eddie…we’ve always had to complete with big chains and we’re still here.”

Here are a few of the bricks used to help build his wolf- proof business:

Customer relationship management: Not from textbooks or software. From the heart. Empathy and knowledge of what his customers want, need or could use.

Loyalty program: He’s loyal to them. Everybody gets a good deal every time. And they keep coming back. Once a year, he has a spectacular by-invitation-only private sale. He makes customers feel special –and they are special.

The NECO Alliance: There’s a presumption that the big guy’s price is always better. Au Contraire! Skip’s prices are always competitive. He belongs to a buying coop with 450 independent appliance dealers. Collectively they have the buying clout of a chain, so each has access to the same price sheets as the big guys.

A mature sales staff: His stable of stable sales pros can cross sell, up sell, down sell and outsell their competitors. They’re generalists who know every item in the store. What’s more, they can cut a deal without consulting a higher authority.

Detail Oriented: They are “passionate about getting everything right.” Problems are handled quickly and fairly. Everybody knows how to smile and say thank you. To Skip, every call really is important: Live people answer the phone!

All sounds pretty basic, doesn’t it? It is. And it’s also why this savvy marketer is not afraid of any big bad wolf-mart. He is too busy doing business.

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