The Silent Reason Small Businesses Are Disappearing (It’s Not Marketing)
For Local small business - The "What's In It For You" Strategy:
Hyper-Specialization over Generalization: Stop being a "General Contractor" or "General Accountant." The article suggests that if a big player can copy your service, they will. You must specialize in a niche so narrow that a large corporation wouldn’t find it profitable to chase (e.g., instead of "Plumber," become "Historical Home Copper Pipe Restoration Specialist").
The "Anti-Convenience" Value: Since you cannot beat big players on convenience or price, you must win on unreplicable expertise. Shift from being a service provider to a "Category of One" specialist.
Human Connection as a Moat: The Canva example highlights that human connection is a powerful marketing tool. For local services, this means moving beyond "doing the job" to creating an experience that feels like a neighborhood partnership rather than a transaction.
For Online Business :
For digital entities, the threat is "Globalized Supply" and "Speed of Information." If your digital product or service is easily searchable and reproducible, you are at risk of being swallowed by AI or massive platforms.
The "What's In It For You" Strategy:
Tighten the Target: The "narrower than feels comfortable" rule applies here most. Don't build tools for "Marketers"; build them for "Independent Podcast Producers over 50."
The "Feedback Loop" Innovation: As seen with Canva’s World Tour, the best product ideas didn’t come from HQ; they came from standing "shoulder to shoulder" with users. Online businesses should use "Imagination Stations" (virtual or physical pop-ups) to gather "community wishes."
Community as Defense: Large tech companies struggle with genuine, high-touch community. By building a tribe where users teach each other (like the students teaching Canva staff), you create a network effect that a "good enough" competitor cannot easily disrupt with a cheaper price point.
The survival shifts (high-level)
From generalist to specialist: Deep expertise beats broad offerings.
From scale to specificity: Serving a very specific customer with a very specific need.
From convenience to meaning: Offering value that can’t be replicated by efficiency or scale.
The takeaway: small businesses don’t win by being “pretty good at many things,” but by being irreplaceable at one thing. The future belongs to businesses that choose depth over breadth—and commit fully to it.
https://www.inc.com/inc-custom-studio/experiential-marketing-hits-the-road/91266642
