3 Tips for a Small Business to Compete With Bigger Competitors

There is a great deal of business advice in books and on the internet, but much of it is not always intended or aimed at entrepreneurs or small business owners. There is even less advice on how a small business can compete with the bigger competitors who dominate the market. The advice you may get from a fellow entrepreneur might work for them, but there is no guarantee it will work for your small business, that is nature of small business. Here is some advice that does work for small business that you really need to hear.

1. Do not try to compete with the big box stores using price, they will always win

Yes, the Walmarts, the Targets the Best Buys and even online giants like Amazon use pricing to draw consumers away from competitors, but as a small business owner, you will go out of business by trying to compete based on price. Just ask any business owner whose business is now shuttered and the owner has moved on to another business venture. Regardless of the product or service being offered, the big box stores and large corporations will always have the pricing that is prohibitive for smaller companies to compete with, this is largely due to the buying power that they have.

So if you can not compete solely on price, you need to make your offering more appealing to consumers on your uniqueness and quality of service. There are a lot of consumers who rather pay a little more and get amazing customer service from a dedicated sales and service team that truly knows their product, rather than deal with someone working at a big box store (who only makes less than $12 per hour) that does not truly know their products and only tell you what the manufacturer has listed on the data sheet. Try to stand out for something other than price, show value in your offering that the big boys can’t offer. Yes, price will often still factor in, but when you enhance the customer experience and dedicated professionalism can often make consumers overlook the pricing and become a long term customer.

2. Give the consumer a lasting impression with awesome customer service

You can have the best product, at a great price, but if you do not leave a lasting impression on customers, they wont be back. Dedication to the delivery of great customer service does not end when the sale is made, you want the customer to feel that they have made the right choice and that you stand behind your product or service.

Good customer service is not just for customers you are serving today, consider the customers that did not make a purchase today as a future customer. We all know that there are “tire kickers” that are thinking of making a purchase, but trying to get as much information and knowledge about what they are considering purchasing. Your good customer service skills of treating them the same way you would another customer will go a long way to getting them to consider coming back and doing business with you. If you have a giveaway item that your give customers who have made a purchase, offer it to your “tire kicker” prospects as a sign of good faith, they will remember that gesture when it does come time to make the purchase.

3. To encourage repeat business, you should create a loyalty program that rewards customers who frequent your business.

We have all seen those coffee cards that get stamped every time you purchase a coffee from a local coffee shop, that is the simplest form of a loyalty reward program. Admit it, you have at least one of those cards or one of the loyalty reward cards from a major retailer or even one associated with your credit card. Loyalty reward programs would not exist if they did not work, but creating one that is easy to use, is the true key. While some coffee shops still use the stamp or whole punch method, some reward programs have gone high tech. Some loyalty rewards program come in the form of a smart phone app or a scannable barcode on a keychain fob.

Regardless of which method of reward program you use, if it is not simple for the user to collect from it, they will not use it or frequent your business. Having an easy to use method of loyalty rewards program is not the only thing you need, you need to let people know that you have the program and make them want to use it. It starts at the point of sale when you or your staff interact with a customer, let them know about your rewards program and show them how easy it is to get on it. If you have a mailing list of your customers, remind them in your communications that you have a reward program and explain the benefits to them for using it.

Looking to Learn More?

Telsec | Logo White
18 King Street East Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1C4 Canada
416-574-1112
Telsec | Logo White
18 King Street East Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5C 1C4
416-574-1112

Restaurants 

 

1. Ryan Halsall

CRAFT BEER MARKET (OUTDOOR COURTYARD)

Courtyard backs onto our Telsec building, 18 King St. E 

1 Adelaide St E (enter on east side of Yonge St., south of Adelaide)

Toronto, ON 

M5C 2V9

Tel: 437-922-BEER (2337)

Website: www.craftbeermarket.ca 

 

2. Michael Pagliaro

Carisma (Italian) 

15 Toronto Street

Toronto, ON

M5C 2E3

Tel: 416-864-7373

Website: www.carismarestaurant.com 

 

3. Patti Shaw

Terroni (Italian) 

57 Adelaide Street East

Toronto, ON

M5C 1K6

Tel: 416-203-3093

Website: www.terroni.com 

 

4. Declan

Restaurant 20 Victoria – Michelin guide approved

20 Victoria Street

Toronto, ON

M5C 2A1

Tel: 416-804-6066

Instagram for reservations: https://www.instagram.com/twentyvictoria/ 

 

5. Mana

Nami (Japanese)

55 Adelaide Street East

Toronto, ON

M5C 1K6

Tel: 416-362-7373

Website: www.namirestaurant.ca 


6. Restaurant Lucie

100 Yonge Street

Toronto, ON

M5C 2W1

Tel: 416-788-9054

Website: www.restaurantlucie.com 

 

7. Niam H

Cantina Mercatto

20 Wellington Street East

Toronto, ON

M5E 1C5

Tel: 416-304-0781

Website: www.cantinamercatto.ca 

 

8. Siva Sathasivam

Uncle Tony’s

38 Wellington St E

Toronto, ON

M5E 1C7

Tel: 416-455-6650 

Website: https://uncletonys.ca/ 


9. Pizzaiolo 

104 Yonge Street 

Toronto, ON 

M5C 2Y6

Tel: 416-860-0700

Website: www.pizzaiolo.ca 

 

10. Robin Singh 

Woods Restaurant and Bar

45 Colborne Street

Toronto, ON

M5E 1E3

Tel: 416-214-9918

Website: www.woodsrestaurant.ca 

 

11. Amadeusz Domyslawski

GUSTO 501

501 King St. E

Toronto, ON

M5A 1L9

Tel: 416-477-5647

Website: www.gusto501.com

 

Health and Wellness

 

1. Thom Tullo

Morpheus8 by Inmode

47 Colborne Street

Toronto, ON

M5E 1E3

Tel: 416-863-6564

Website: www.amanspa.ca 


2. Altitude Athletic Training 

56 Colborne Street

Toronto, ON

M5E 1E3

Tel: 416-366-3838

Website: www.altitudeathletictraining.com 


3. Physioheath Studios

33 Victoria Street, #130

Toronto, ON

M5C 2A1

Tel: 416-368-2525

Website: www.physiohealth.com 

 

Hotels

 

1. Jennifer Smith

General Manager 

The Omni King Edward Hotel

37 King Street East

Toronto, ON

M5C 1E9

Tel: 416-863-9700

Website: https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/toronto-king-edward 

 

2. Mark Perry 

General Manager 

Executive Hotels and Resorts (Boutique) 

8 Colborne Street

Toronto, ON

M5E 1E1

Tel: 416-350-2419

Website: www.spazen.ca or www.cosmotoronto.com 

 

3. Emeline Boul

General Manager 

Hotel Victoria (Boutique) 

56 Yonge Street

Toronto, ON

M5E 1G5

Tel: 416-363-1666

Mobile: 647-574-5832

Website: www.hotelvictoriatoronto.com 

 

4. Omkar Sawant

Reservations Manager 

One King West Hotel 

1 King Street West

Toronto, ON

M5H 1A1

Main: 416-548-8100

Reservations: 1-866-470-5464

Website: www.onekingwest.com 



5. Van Nguyen

General Manager 

Cambridge Suites Toronto 

15 Richmond Street East

Toronto, ON

M5C 1N2

Direct: 416-601-3757

Hotel: 416-368-1990

Website: www.cambridgesuitestoronto.com 

Our Amenities

We are by far the most experienced and best coworking team in the market – established in 1980

  • We are the highest Tech centre in the market
  • We have a very modern, high quality, brand new facility located at:

   18 King Street East, Suite 1400

      Toronto, Ontario   M5C 1C4 Canada

    • 18 King Street East is a boutique Class A building – East of Yonge: easy street parking, less traffic, excellent restaurants and lovely parks – St. James Park @ Church & King and Berczy Park @ Wellington East, Scott and Front Streets – Very high energy and engaging area
    • A few steps (a few seconds) to the Yonge Street subway/underground PATH network and streetcar available outside building
    • Building is located in Toronto's vibrant financial district
    • Plenty of parking available in the area including street parking and reserved parking in the 18 King building 
    • Adjacent to the building huge outdoor food courtyard - Beer Bistro www.beerbistro.com and Craft Beer Market www.craftbeermamrket.ca restaurants and bars with onsite catering services
    • Onsite amenities:  Tim Horton's, Beer Bistro, Convenience store and Starbucks across the street 
    • Nearby amenities:  underground PATH network, numerous restaurants, banking, Starbucks plus a wide array of nearby shops and services 
    • New modernized office layout fully furnished with meeting spaces and training rooms plus café lounge area
    • We are leaders in the service of training/meeting rooms with full conference facilities, high quality hot and cold catering
    • Largest training room and conference facilities accommodate up to 60 people classroom style
    • Ultra-high-speed - 1 GIG pipe = 1,000 x 1000 fiber-optic network, which will deliver internet connection speeds faster than most North American services
    • Private shower room
    • Indoor Reserved Parking at the current building rental rate
    • Bicycle parking
    • Rent a space to accommodate your team for meetings, training sessions, corporate events or coworking space or flexible office space for one day, one week, one month or one year, or whatever term suits your business
    • Telsec has over 650 locations in 40 different countries worldwide available for their clients.  Office clients receive up to 8 hours of meeting space per month at no charge at any ABCN member location.  Plus, Office and Virtual Office clients may rent a space from any member location at special member rates which varies depending on the location 
    • King Edward Hotel is located across the street - recently completed a $40 million renovation and boutique hotels close by within walking distance
  • Dining and entertainment at high quality restaurants only minutes away – Carisma, Terroni, Woods Restaurant & Bar and Michelin Rated - Restaurant 20 Victoria. Plus numerous lunch and takeout eateries nearby

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Take a look at our facilities www.telsec.net    

Telsec will Customize Your Client’s Office(s) Layout to Meet Their Requirements. 

You are welcome to drop-in any-time, a quick call would be appreciated to ensure our availability Vanessa 416-574-1112 or Josie 416-606-4349 or e-mail josie@telsec.net.