Many small business owners are faced with the problem of competing against the big boys of their industries.

It’s not easy going against the Goliaths; mainly because you can never outspend them in terms of marketing. These big boys have deep pockets that they can use to launch comprehensive branding campaigns dominating various mediums — from TV, radio to Internet. They can also hire the best ad agencies and public relation firms to help them reach and keep their target customers.

So what can you do? Since you don’t have their marketing budgets, you need to market smarter and this means:

• Accept that traditional marketing routes may not be for you — e.g. you don’t have the resources to hire an ad agency or even buy a TV spot. Think outside the box and be more creative.
• Start with a product or service that is better than your competitor as quality will be your main selling point
• Carefully target the customers for your products or services, reach out to them by educating them first — they may have heard of your competitor but not you, so you need to inform them that you have a much better product or service
• Focus on marketing approaches that would allow you to interact better with your customers, especially those that your competitors will never do

Your competitors can package an inferior product into something glossy — and with their massive budgets, they can actually make people believe that they are the standards of the industry. Without those resources, all you have is the quality of your product or service.

For other ideas on how to beat the big businesses in your industry, read the article “10 Ways Small Businesses Can Compete With the Big Boys”