Up Against THe Walmart - by: Don Taylor & Smalling

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy. ‘Change’ & ‘Experimentation’ are constant phenomenon. The Consumers & competitors have constantly been redefining ‘Customer Service’ & ‘Value’. In this ever-changing business environment smooth sailing is a difficult preposition. Having researched into working methodologies of 5000 small business-owners since 1994, Taylor & Archer provide a trail of business strategies & tactics which could be adopted by small-business owners to compete with power-retailers like: Wal-Mart, Target Corporation, Kmart Corp, Dollar General Corporation, Home Depot, Lowe’s & many more. Attracting maximum numbers of foot- falls, converting them into buyers or potential customers, retaining their interest & loyalty are some of daunting challenges. The Authors unequivocally chronicle 7 P’s of Marketing Mix, Marketing plan, Customer retention strategies, four P’s of Service, Customer Loyalty builders & importance of Continual Customer Feedback, Hiring Policies, Interview Formats, Promotion strategies, Financial Planning & Customer surveys. The book has power-packed theoretical glimpses from almost all Management subjects.The glacier of managerial theories melts beautifully into practical rivulets; in the form of the profiled companies who have followed these management principles & carved a niche for themselves alongside the huge stores.
There are fourteen chapters in this book. The First Chapter introduces us to the changing business scenario, changing customer perception about ‘marketing’ & profiles some of the biggest Retail Stores in the world & goes on to present fourteen most successful business strategies.
The first strategy is: Know Thy Customer. A Customer wants ‘value for money’, information, service, sea of choices & peace.
Second strategy is: Treat employees as assets. Taylor suggests ten most powerful traits of great employees. The employees, he says must have high self-esteem, possess good communication skills, should be self-motivated, dependable, exhibit high energy level, efficiency, perseverance, enthusiasm, have sense of humour. He goes on to suggest integrity & positive attitude as other important traits required in an employee.
Third strategy is: add value & change customer’s perception. To run successful business, the businessmen should reduce operational cost, improve quality , add free services like : free installation, free workshops, free delivery free safety checks etc. Bundling a free shirt with a suit, offering free oil changes on vehicle bought from a dealership helps customers gain high perceived value of a Product or a Service sold.. These free service offers or bundling the value helps building life-time relationships with customers.

Eliminating waste or cost cutting is the next strategy proposed. Operating expenses & inventory turns help keeping business lean, which ultimately can help businessman providing products & services at competitive prices.
Taylor observed another strategy of successful entrepreneurs: monitoring information: Financial, Customer-related, Industry’s & prevalent market trends. ‘Becoming a power nicher’, is what Taylor advices next. Offering a place or position or unique skills particularly suiting to the person may help businessmen serve as nichers. Taylor suitably gives examples of upscale ladies-wear shop where customers are provided flattering styles & colours, matching accessories going with them & create professional wardrobes. Providing product & free service to gain confidence by looking great