PlusOne – Marketing Musings

There is a quiet revolution going on in business. In some countries the revolution is a return to the old ways, while in others countries it is a return to the ways of old.

My Musings today are inspired by this article on BBC NEWS  called Where small is beautiful and bountiful.

The article is about attempts by Indian businessmen to emulate Western style supermarkets and malls in an attempt to lure customers away from the small, traditional family run enterprise so common in the populous nation.

With the increasing affluence (despite the remaining overwhelming poverty) I suppose that there was perceived to be a need to adopt Western stye of retail as a way to cater for those who had made it.

But the experiments have fails and in one case 1600 outlets failed and over 4500 people lost their jobs.

OK that is India I hear you say – but there is a quiet revolution happening in the affluent nations as well.

Just as in India, many years ago your local store, butcher or baker knew you by name. They knew your want and needs and consciously or not they provided a level of customer service that was in fact later to become known as personalisation.

In today’s mass market world people are looking for the unique, or that term commonly heard in the UK, bespoke.

For large business delivering a customised product is often neither achievable nor desirable. When the business is run on models of turnover and cost per sale, there is little or no opportunity for meeting customer’s individual needs.

Enter small business.

Whether by accident or design most small businesses treat each transaction more individually. In turn this allows a more focused view of customer needs and often a better outcome.

Small business are also better placed to offer personalisation.

Self publishers, the ultimate in micro business can now print just a handful of books using digital printing technology. Changes on the run can be made and if a customised product was needed it could be done.

Craftsmen can built customised anything.

IT specialists can do things often unobtainable by larger operators dealing with off-the-shelf solutions who look to fit your business needs into their product box.

The caricature business can draw whatever the customer desires.

While dealing with small business may, by the very nature of small business cost more than with large business, people are well-placed to find better outcomes as their unique needs can be met.

So the revolution rolls out…are you part of it?

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