How Small Companies Can Win in the Big Leagues
You’ve likely heard the adage, “big companies buy from big companies,” particularly in terms of technology. That was (somewhat) truer back in the day of large single-vendor technology stacks, but web services, Kubernetes, and other enhancements in interoperability have now opened up that playing field.
Granted, there are still reasons large enterprises prefer to do business with large vendors in some instances: breadth of product offerings, depth of support and/or (perceived) business stability.
But as the pace of change accelerates and companies shift from disruptive, expensive “big bang” software implementations to flexible tools that provide faster payback and leverage the technology they already have in place, a vendor’s size matters less than other considerations.
Big companies today buy not so much from other big companies as from:
Visionary companies. Use the advantage you have as an outside vendor to identify common problems or patterns of issues across the companies you work with, and develop offerings to address those needs. Your prospective buyers inside big companies are smart, to be sure, but you have the vantage point to spot trends and common requirements from a broader perspective.
Fast companies. Big, long-term projects are difficult to fund and manage. The risk of failure is significant, due to changes in business conditions, staff, and priorities. Instead, create products and services that can solve specific problems quickly, i.e., in six months or less. Provide offerings that are evolutionary (i.e., ones that leverage what the company already owns) rather than revolutionary ("rip-and-replace" type solutions).
Smart companies. Don't simply respond to customer needs, anticipate them. Henry Ford is quoted as saying, "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." Innovative products ranging from the first automobile to the microwave oven to the iPhone were created not because the market asked for them but because their need was perceived.
Innovative companies. Small companies can't succeed with "me too" products; you need to do something new or (notably) better. At Kinetic Data, for example, one of the products we sell is service catalog software. So do a number of other companies, some of them much larger. But ours is easier to use, faster to implement, and is designed to support an enterprise request management (ERM) strategy—taking the service catalog beyond the IT function, centralizing and automating requests from any shared services group across the organization.
Authentic companies. Invest promotional dollars primarily in content marketing rather than advertising. It better reflects your company's personality and expertise, and is more likely to generate interest and sales leads. Producing quality, relevant, useful content answers key questions your sales prospects have, such as: Why are you in business; what’s your mission? Are you trustworthy? Is your's the kind of company they want to do business with?)
To succeed as a small company selling to large enterprises:
- Build great teams. Hire people with deep expertise, but also the flexibility to help out where needed. For any specific project or product, keep the core team as small as feasible.
- Create products that are low risk for buyers and can provide quick results. The greater the risk and the further out the benefit, the longer the sales cycle.
- Expand brand awareness and generate leads through content marketing. Produce content that’s relevant to your prospective customers and builds your credibility in the market.
- Build a great product and provide great service. Then your customers will do much of your marketing for you.
- Sell both the financial benefits and personal benefits of your product. How are you making the buyer’s life better?
- Focus on providing value, not on creating “the next big thing.” The “Yo” app may have raised a million dollars, but most clever ideas with no real business value fail quickly and quietly.
The environment has never been better for small companies to sell to large enterprises. In consolidating and commoditizing markets, innovation is vital to continued success and profitability.
Large companies recognize that innovation today relies increasingly less on the economies of scale enjoyed by large vendors and more on the agility and creativity common in smaller firms. By spotting trends, anticipating needs, moving quickly, and providing fast time-to-benefit, small companies can thrive by selling to large corporations and government agencies.