It’s such a spectacle how a little child can be so creatively imaginative in trying to fit an over-sized shoe, more so how his innocent mind perceives plain, natural things into extraordinary opportunities and exert his best efforts to engage and explore his environment. If playful kids have this cognitive ability, can small businesses do the same, or better?

Small businesses and startups can definitely do best if they possess similar mindset akin to little children: to focus on the possibilities of things and exert effort in engaging skills to opportunities and to THINK BIG!

Other than the most effective marketing strategies for small businesses known and practiced by many marketing experts, Inc.com suggests some marketing tactics for small businesses that will help them THINK BIG and GROW:

Large Businesses as Partners

Many think that small entrepreneurs are easily swallowed by large companies via business acquisition – true. On the contrary, a growing number of giant industry leaders are seeing opportunities in nimble entrepreneurial firms by converging strategies on: customer acquisition, product innovation and best practices. Below are the keys to Successful Partnership with Large Companies:

Research to find the right business partner otherwise ill-conceived partnerships will leave company in worst shape.

Fundamentally Sound Business Practices should be in place before presenting a business-partnership proposal

Recognition Of Own Responsibilities should be kept in mind and that large companies expect returns for every financial/marketing help they extend.

Monitor Requirements Of Successful Partnerships and value commitment to achieve goals both for you and your corporate partner

Do Not Be Intimidated , just do business accordingly

Maintain Independence and reserve a sense of ownership of your turf by not relying too much on your corporate partner in exchange of financial help

Establish Clear And Open Lines Of Communication

Large Businesses as Product Distributors

Take advantage of distributors’ needs to sell their products as this will expedite business success for small businesses, but factors below are to be considered:

Competition – have a quality product that sell

Compatibility – find the right merchandiser for your product

Large Businesses as Customers

Please corporate clients as how you do to individual clients or even more. Below are some key points to ponder:

Corporate customers may have different needs and priorities, be aware

Value commitment on non-negotiables like time and quality

Loss of a single corporate customer can have significant impact in your business

Expect more paper and safekeeping tasks

Related: Make Prospects Feel Satisfied in Purchasing your Software Products

Small businesses see large companies as giant competitors and most of the time feel intimidated by their size and technological capabilities. But weren’t these big-timers once small startups too?

Aim to hit your targets by leveraging on the resources and opportunities that these large companies offer as your business partner, product distributors and as your customers ; like the little child in the picture who’s figuring out some strokes to wear the pair of shoes, apparently disregarding the trappings on the size differences between his feet and the shoes, but keeps a steady focus to just get his cute feet in and just let them explore the empty space inside.

After all, one day soon, he’ll grow big enough to wear big, fitting shoes for him.

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