By 
A few days ago, I went to the store to pick up some items after work, which was the peak time in retail. When I went to pay, I looked at two cash registers with cashiers and very long lines. Then I decided to deal with self-service, and when I got caught up in the particular sequence that I was supposed to do to pay, the human who in the early days of self-service was left helping people get familiar with the payment machine was not in Nowhere. to be found.
As someone who had worked in retail for years, I was not believed by managers who acted as if people weren’t frustrated and upset about having this ordeal in a store. What happened to the service? When did that become a thing of the past? When did it become acceptable for companies to ignore their customers’ time and experience?
As an entrepreneur, I have a lot of conversations with small business owners about how online businesses and retailers are killing their profits, and they have no choice but to keep things simple and mean.
Amazon is one of the favorite commercial killers.
But, when I go to retail stores, I see long lines, which I prefer to avoid by entering a few things on a digital retail platform and then receiving my products, usually within a few hours of placing the order in the comfort of my home. Who wants to go to a store to have an unpleasant experience when I can sit at home and buy what I need in a fraction of the time?
Here’s my take on the big and bad Amazon and other global retailers that are destroying small businesses: No, they are not.
While there are pros and cons over Amazon and other global companies, such as paying competitive and fair wages, as well as working conditions for their employees, it’s easy to think of online retailers as the enemy because it gives owners of businesses someone else to blame but themselves.
If you have a business and you are not adapting to the changes that are happening, and you think you are adapting by destroying the customer experience, then you cannot blame anyone but yourself. You are losing your earnings for yourself, not for Amazon.
I have a question for you.
Have you ever thought about competing against Amazon and other big online retailers?
If the answer is no, why not?
If you say it is because your business cannot compete with a trillion dollar company and if you do, then you have to mislead the customer, you are wrong. Yes, you can compete against Amazon and other global giants and you can get more customers. That is how:
- Change your way of thinking: The first is the first. You have to look in the mirror and stop excusing the failure of your company to be innovative and adapt to anyone other than you. It is essential to do this because if you think from the beginning that you have lost, then you could also close the store. You have to believe that your company can stand out.
- Stay in your lane: I am an entrepreneur and I have more than seven brands. One of the most important things we do is stay on our way. We are not everything to all people. We choose niches for brands and we are relentless to be the market leader. Amazon has thousands of products and continues to move into new industries such as publishing, retail, and now healthcare and even education. Do you want to beat Amazon? Focus like a laser on a niche.
- Develop a purpose: If you search Amazon, it often has hundreds of thousands of similar products, such as shoes. No one is going to go through that, but if you are a shoe retailer and discover a specific value to your customers for buying shoes from you (eg higher purpose), people will patronize your store. Amazon does not seek to create a consumer story to generate a positive impact. However, other brands have overlapped to make a difference in their products, and that is a competitive advantage that your company would have over a giant like Amazon.
- Customer service:A competitive advantage of my brands over my competitors is exceptional customer service. You can crush even Amazon if you provide something that seems to be out of date: extraordinary, live customer service where people can talk to another human being who cares about the customer experience. If you want consumers to come into your store, think about how you can serve them and treat each person as a unique individual.
- Experience: This goes hand in hand with the previous point. Think about the experience you want to give your customers. Do you want them to line up at your store (it won’t happen with many people), or to enter a fresh, modern (with a lot of technology) and fun experience? Think about the customer experience from the moment consumers see your brand, to the point of sale and beyond. Customer experience is why Amazon is a global giant; They are fond of knowing their customers.
If you want to keep claiming that your business can’t compete with Amazon or other online retailers, close the store. You are right. However, if you want to go out of your way and operate your business successfully in the 21st century, then get down to business. There is a lot of ocean and even small fish swim alongside the giant whales. You cannot be afraid of it.