Millennium Marketing Research®

Tom Schori DBA Millennium Marketing Research®, 808 Ironwood, Normal IL 61761, 309-532-8466

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Is your company afraid of 'The Big, Bad Wolf'?

By Thomas R. Schori, Ph.D., and Michael L. Garee, Principals,  Millennium Marketing Research, 808 E. Ironwood, Normal, IL 61761-5239. Tel. 309-532-8466 -

The collective mindset in America seems to be, categorically, that BIG is virtually always better than small- or medium-sized. And nowhere is this assumption more pervasive that in the American marketplace. Almost without exception, small- to medium-sized companies tend to view the "giants" in their respective industries as somehow, ipso facto, being better than they are. They tend to believe the industry leaders have smarter employees, inherently different employees. Better products and services. Superior marketing savvy.

To all of this, we say (quite politely, of course), "hogwash"!

Both of us have worked for¾or owned and operated¾small businesses. We’ve also worked for both medium-sized companies, as well as industry leaders. It is therefore our informed opinion¾and we’re aware of how iconoclastic this position can be¾that at all sized companies are superior employees, with first-rate skills and talents, as well as those employees who run the gamut from very good to very poor performers, thinkers and doers. Still, we know from experience, it’s exceedingly difficult to convince at least some smaller businesses of this fact.

There are, of course, notable exceptions where small "start-ups," either through sheer naivete or plain old ignorance, didn’t realize they should be intimidated by the giants in a particular industry segment. The (now) very successful Microsoft comes immediately to mind. Notwithstanding the fact that his mother had been on the board of IBM, young Bill Gates didn’t realize that he should be intimidated by IBM when he was attempting to sell them his disk operating system for their fledgling personal computer in the early 1980s.

But Microsoft and Bill Gates are very definitely the exception to the rule. For the most part, small- to medium-sized American companies do indeed continue to quake in the presence of the industry leaders.

One of us used to work for the largest automobile insurance company in the WORLD, then, moved to a small regional insurance company that just happened to be located down the street in the same city as the industry leader. Time and time again, it was evident at the much smaller company that the widely held belief was that the industry leader was superior in virtually every way! No amount of protestation to the contrary, based on nearly ten years’ personal experience with employees at all levels and in virtually every department at the industry leader, could alter the mindset at the smaller company. Such protests were met either with skepticism or outright disbelief!

Que sera!

What is the price of a smaller company allowing itself to be so intimidated by an industry giant? Well, for one thing, it can result in a smaller company being essentially "frozen" in place, afraid to make a move for fear of awakening the giant and incurring his wrath. Or, when an idea for a new product or service surfaces at the smaller company, someone inevitably will pooh-pooh the idea as already having been tried by the giant and found to have little or no value. Or, perhaps, it will be said that if "such and such" is so great an idea, the industry leader would have already tried it, so let’s don’t take a risk. This, even though the smaller company, with its inherently greater flexibility and maneuverability, might indeed be able to capitalize on new products and services whereas the industry leader might not!

Think this doesn’t happen? Think again. It happens each and every business day and in every industry segment. It’s a fact you can quite likely attest to if you’re employed by a smaller company in your industry.

It’s sometimes instructive to keep in mind that there is not one single example of where an industry leader today¾in any industry¾started out as the industry leader. And also remember, the industry leaders today will not necessarily¾even probably¾be the industry leaders of tomorrow. Most companies, particularly large companies, if they don’t remain constantly vigilant risk becoming so bureaucratic, so lethargic and arrogant, that they ultimately become easy "prey" for smaller, far more nimble, hungrier competitors who will someday literally "eat them alive." That is, if these smaller competitors have the vision, commitment, fearlessness and perseverance. In other words, these smaller companies can’t be afraid of "the big, bad wolf!"