I came across Joe Pulizzi’s blog post about Why it’s bad to be a big company (and the marketing opportunities that arise for small companies) the other day and think it’s a great subject. Especially at this time, when internet marketing still hasn’t found its way in some of the world’s major companies’ marketing strategies, being small can still have several advantages. Although big companies usually have big budgets, a broad range of knowledge, huge networks, lots of content and also a brand advantage, smaller companies and even individuals have shown that these benefits are not always the key to success. Besides the fact that large companies not always know how to use these benefits in their advantage, there are also a few places where small businesses tend to win most of the battles.

Big vs Small; image by Somun

Speed

If you’re small, you’re able to make quick decisions. There’s no need to fill in action request forms, organize a two week lobby and there’s no other time consuming, decision slowing process necessary. If you spot a trend, you often see only small companies respond to this trend. Big companies follow much later, because of their long lines and exhausting processes.

Speed is not only an offensive factor, but smaller companies can use their size in their defense as well. When someone discusses the brand of a large company, this company usually has to decide if they should respond. When this decision finally has been made, the right division should be determined (communication, PR, customer service, …) and a plan will be made. Once this plan is ready to get executed, the discussion will most likely have either exploded or died.