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

Is BIG necessarily better?

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 -

Despite the fact that we Americans continually complain that, more and more each day, we are becoming "just another number" whenever we have to deal with large companies, some of us nonetheless tend to judge the worthiness of a company (and its products and services) strictly on the basis of its size! That’s particularly true when it involves "business-to-business" transactions.

Being a small business ourselves, we’ve certainly had plenty of experience with this attitude. Here are just a few of the preconceived (and, may we say, false) notions we encounter from prospective corporate customers virtually on a weekly basis:

  • There is no way that you, as a small business, could possibly offer us any special knowledge or unique skills that aren’t already offered in abundance by the much larger marketing companies.
  • Our jobs tend to be very large, and obviously, you don’t have the staff or facilities to conduct research projects of such a large scope.
  • If you were really any good at what you do, you would be associated with one of the national or international marketing firms.

Usually, we find such reactions to be slightly humorous, but that humor quickly dissipates when we realize that such reactions can significantly affect our company’s "bottom line." At the risk of our sounding reactionary, please allow us to address¾and dispel¾each of these preconceived notions.

No small business has skills, talents or unique ideas that aren’t readily available from larger suppliers. Suffice it to say, we’ve certainly "been around" in our lives, and, with all due humility, we will match our skills, talents and unique ideas with anyone, anywhere and in any company, no matter the size. Together, we have combined business experience of well over half a century. And, that experience includes considerable tenure at small, medium, large and even very large companies. Our individual skill sets include, but are not necessarily limited to the following: communication, advertising, sales promotion, sales support, sales, marketing, marketing research, and higher education. Try finding that depth and breadth of expertise in the management ranks of a typical large company!

We’ve functioned in a multitude of positions over the years, ranging all the way from entry-level (when we first started our business careers) to the very highest executive levels. So, at the risk of sounding too confident, we can honestly say that we are rarely, if ever, intimidated or over-awed by our much "larger" more "experienced" competitors. We know what we know. We also know what our larger competitors know and what they typically bring to the table. How? Simple. We’ve worked with many of them during our careers, that’s how. Besides, we know that no company or group of people has the market cornered on good ideas or unique ways of doing things.

Having spent considerable time in large companies over the years, we also know¾and, if you currently are employed by a large company, you also know!¾that it is typically in those companies where one is least likely to find a plethora of unique talent, skills and/or new ideas. Normally, the larger companies are so bureaucratic that even delivering on the commonplace services can easily become quite a stretch. Nimble, versatile and creative they usually aren’t, we’ve found!

Our jobs are simply too large in scope for a small business. To be sure, over the years, our larger competitors have spent considerable time and money on "bricks and mortar," as well as on the scores and scores of people required to populate the resultant facilities. When we began our small business we vowed never to fall into that trap! Why? Because someone has to pay for such tremendous overhead, and guess who that is? The customer, of course, and that makes us far less price competitive.

While our larger competitors tend to be able to offer customers every conceivable service under one corporate roof¾research design, printing, mailing, data input, focus group facilities, telemarketing services, ad infinitum¾we offer none of those things under our own "roof." And that’s by design! Oh, we have immediate access to the very best of such services and many, many more. It’s just that we don’t have to pay for them until we actually need them for our clients, unlike our larger competitors who must defray the tremendous expenses associated with these services on an ongoing basis¾whether or not they are being used. Again, guess who pays for that considerable overhead.

If small business owners were really any good, they’d be working for their larger competitors. Again, we’ve already been there, done that. And, from extensive experience, we know how much more creative and imaginative we are allowed to be in our own small business than was the case when we worked for large companies. Rare indeed is it that really good, bright, creative people currently working for a large company don’t yearn to have the freedom and flexibility offered them by running their own business. How else does one explain such high levels of job dissatisfaction in corporate America? Look around at the people in your own company. How many of them (with the possible exception of the "corporate drones") have ever voiced a desire to someday hang out their own shingle and escape the corporate "rat race"?

Now, don’t misunderstand us. We’re not saying that "small" is always good and "big" is always bad. (Although, in fact, recent surveys have shown that job satisfaction among entrepreneurs and small business owners is about double that of those who work for someone else.) What we are saying is this: If you, as a purchaser of products and services for your company, automatically discount even considering doing business with a company simply because of its relatively small size, you could really be missing the boat!

Think about it.