Competing with Big Businesses with a Merchant Cash Advance

I recently wrote an article offering advice on what a small business owner should do when a nearby, big-name store closes down. The thought of such an occurrence is enough to make any small business owner shiver, especially those who rely on the big-name store’s high traffic. Still, the converse can be just as big of a problem. A big name store’s opening can be a challenge for a nearby small business, particularly if that store sells similar products and/or services.

One store that has been getting constant heat from small business owners is Wal-Mart. Their low prices and extensive variety of products have made it very difficult for surrounding small businesses to keep their customers.

Let me be the first to warn you that it may require extra cash at first, to compete with such stores. Therefore, the first step would be to secure the extra cash.

An easy way to get this fast cash is through a merchant cash advance. Small business owners who process at least $5,000 in monthly credit card sales and who have owned their businesses for at least six months may qualify to receive $5,000 to $500,000. This money is then repaid via the business’s credit card sales, as a small percentage is automatically deducted every time a customer makes a payment with a credit card.

Many experts agree that lowering prices is no way for small businesses to compete, because they will always loose that war. Instead small business owners should evaluate their businesses, determine what they have to offer that separates them from everybody else and expand on that quality.

For starters, one thing that most small businesses can offer that other big name stores cannot offer is excellent customer service. Small businesses’ smaller size allows employees and owners to get to know customers on a personal level. Therefore, instead of just getting a great product at a reasonable prize, small business patrons also receive a great experience.

In a featured article, Wall Street Journal writer, Raymund Flandez highlighted the findings of Kusum Ailawadi, professor of marketing at Dartmouth, "who along with her co-authors studied 90 businesses and their weekly sales data for 46 product categories and compared them to corresponding control stores in markets unaffected by Wal-Mart."

Ailawadi is quoted saying, trying to be similar does not help and it is much better to be different. She suggests doing this by moving away from lower-tier products and expanding product assortments to include natural and organic items.

However you choose to compete with the big-name stores, it is important to make sure that your business has the funds to support it. Choose a merchant cash advance for those much-needed funds.