The Comeback of the Mom and Pop Business

Posted by on Jul 6, 2010 in Small Business Marketing | 4 comments

Well, it is about time! I for one was definitely getting tired of all the attention the big brands seem to generate just because they have a big budget and can come off looking like the best company to do business with. However, that has changed a great deal in the past years. We as a society, I feel we are now going back to our roots more then ever. Since we are starting to come out of the slow down in the economy the customer has changed the way they buy products and who they prefer to do business with. No longer is the cheapest price the right choice when they buy a product and the customer is putting more emphasis on other factors when buying, like the relationship you have with a company. Do you know, like and trust them? Will they side with you if you have a bad experience with them? Then does the company do everything they can to make it better to keep your business? All of this equals the rise again of the small and local business.

I think before the early 2000’s some small and local businesses were under the influence of big corporation; trying to grow too much because the feeling back then was go big or go home and for the most part things were good before 2000. So really what could go wrong? Some were so overwhelmed and thought let’s spend lots of money like they do and think of every customer as just another number because they can always be replaced and then everything changed when the bottom dropped and people stopped buying. What did go wrong was we forgot how powerful the customer really is and how valuable that loyal customer can be. Now, we as a whole are getting back on our feet and seeing some better days with a little extra cash and we are looking at where and who we should really spend it with. Not just Wal-Mart because they are the cheapest, but the businesses that do right by their customers and community.

Years ago you could walk into any business and know that they would treat you right. The local bakery would give you an extra donut if one was too small, or the local grocery store would have someone help carry your groceries out and place them nicely in your car for you. There are so many stories like this and the comeback is here. Small businesses have rallied to send a message to the numbers driven CEO companies that consumers want the care put back into business. Many CEO big brand companies will refuse to try to even care about their customers and many will fail when they do try because they can’t put care above everything else and won’t care about every customer that buys there products, that walks through their doors or that visits their website.

This doesn’t mean the end for all big brand companies. Some big name companies do understand the game and have helped changed and lead to this revolution like Starbucks and Zappos.