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Technology and economics are transforming business in a completely unexpected way: even the largest companies must compete for customers as if they were small, local businesses.
Your customers are talking to their peers everywhere--and listening to each other, not your carefully crafted advertising or branding. Suddenly, communities and personal connec¿tions are critical to your success. It’s just like doing business in a small town, where “reputation is forever.”
Great small town and rural entrepreneurs have been successfully overcoming these challenges for centuries. Their solutions have become invaluable to even the largest companies, most dominant brands, and most cosmopolitan businesses.
In Small Town Rules , Barry J. Moltz and Becky McCray show how to adapt proven “rural” and “local” approaches for today’s new “global small town”: one knitted together through the Web, Facebook, and Twitter. You won’t just learn why these techniques are so valuable; you’ll learn how they’re being applied right now by companies like L.L. Bean, Viking Range, and Walmart.
• Going local, even when you’re global
A seven-step plan for building crucial connections with culture and place
• “Planning for zero”: surviving worst case scenarios that kill your competitors
Questioning hidden assumptions, knowing your “seasons,” and investing for the long term
• Sustaining profits and growth with limited resources
“Rural-style” approaches to growth and profitability in resource-constrained environments
• Adapting to the new economic realities of self-reliance
Marketing and managing when there won’t be any bailouts or safety nets
Small Town Rules
• You now compete in one “global small town,” where all your customers can talk directly to each other, wherever they are
• Local community and individual human voices matter most
• Your personal reputation counts for more than your marketing, size, or resources
Massive societal, technological, and economic changes have transformed the world into one huge small town. In this new “old” world, size, scale, and resources are no guarantee of success. Your true competitive differentiators are personal relationships in local communities: the reputation you earn from real customers with real voices. For generations, the best small town businesses have competed this way. They haven’t just survived; they’ve thrived. This book reveals what they’ve learned, showing you how to compete and win on a human scale with limited resources—no matter how huge, urban, or global you are.
You may not realize just how much like a small town the business world is today…
• When every customer can talk directly to each other, it’s like a small town
• When people listen more to what your customers say about your company than your advertising, it’s like a small town
• When the individual human voice is valued over corporate mission statements, it’s like a small town
• When everyone online is trying to band together in small communities, it’s like a small town
• When everyone wants to buy their products locally, it’s like a small town
Introduction 1
1 Surviving Difficult Economic Times for the Big and Small 7
The Change: Economic Meltdown 8
Impact on Brands 10
Shifting Markets and Public-Relations Mistakes 11
Major Product Disasters 12
Chasing Trends and Shiny Objects, Too! 12
Why Small Towns Survive 14
The Small Town Rule: Plan for Zero 16
Question Assumptions 17
Know the Seasons and Cycles 18
Invest Long Term 21
Applying Small Town Rules to Big Brands Survival: Planning for Zero 23
Planning Ahead Is a Survival Strategy 24
Summary: Things Don't Always Go Up 24
The Small Town Rule: Plan for Zero 24
A Look Ahead 25
Powerhouse Small Town Brands 26
Winnebago Industries 26
Forest City, Iowa: Population 4,100 26
2 The New Normal: Profiting When Resources Are Limited 29
The Change: Resources Are Now Limited 30
Impacts on Big Brands: Low Consumer Demand Hits Where It Hurts Everyone 31
Why Small Towns? Because Resources Have Always Been Tight for Rural Business 32
Lower Consumer Demand 34
A Shortage of Skilled Workforce 35
The Small Town Rule: Spend Creative Brainpower
Before You Spend Dollars 35
Creative Financing 35
Being Frugal 38
Reducing Startup Costs 39
The Labor Force: Be Creative 40
Being Creative Means Doing Whatever It Takes 41
Big Brand Solutions and Examples 41
Conserve; Stop Spending for Stupid 41
Growing Slowly, with the Cycles 42
Getting Creative in Tough Times 44
Summary: Resources Are Now Limited 45
The Small Town Rule: Spend Creative Brainpower Before Dollars 45
A Look Ahead: Will the Rule Be Relevant Tomorrow? 46
Powerhouse Small Town Brands 47
Viking Range 47
Greenwood, Mississippi: Population 18,000 47
3 Adapting to the New Economic Realities of Self-Reliance 49
The Change: No Sure Things (A Job, Income, or Help from the Government) 50
Impact on Brands: No Sure Thing 51
Why Small Town Businesses Survive 51
The Small Town Rule: Build Multiple Lines of Income 54
How to Manage Multiple Lines of Income 55
Diversifying Online: Selling Expertise 56
Market Online to Diversify 58
Big Brand Solutions: Extending Brands for Survival 59
Summary: No Sure Things (A Job, Income, or Help from the Government) 61
The Small Town Rule: Multiply Lines of Income to Diversify Your Risk 62
A Look Ahead 62
Powerhouse Small Town Brands 64
Walmart 64
Bentonville, Arkansas: Population 35,000 64
4 Adapting to the "Anywhere, Anywhen" Business World 67
The Change: Geographic Advantage Is Shrinking, and Competition Is Everywhere 68
Impact on Brands and Big Business 70
How Small Towns Gave Up Geographic Advantage Long Ago 71
The Small Town Rule: Work "Anywhere, Anywhen" Through Technology 73
Broadband Internet Makes Working Anywhere Possible 73
"Anywhen" Makes Time-Shifting as Valuable as Work-Shifting 74
Putting It All Together to Be Location Independent 75
Digital Distribution Extends Reach 77
Forget Outsourcing, Think "Rural Sourcing" 78
Applying the Small Town Rule to Big Brands 78
Summary: Geographic Advantage Is Shrinking, and Competition Is Everywhere 80
The Small Town Rule: Work "Anywhere, Anywhen" Through Technology 80
A Look Ahead 81
Powerhouse Small Town Brands 82
L.L. Bean 82
Freeport, Maine: Population 7,800 82
5 Forget Advertising: Learn Customer-Driven Communication 85
The Change: Technology Allows All Customers to Easily Communicate with Each Other 86
Impact on Brands 86
Why Small Towns Already Work This Way 89
Rural Regions Lead in Social-Media Adoption 90
Social Media Is Like a Small Town, Everyone Says So 90
The Small Town Rule: Treat Customers Like Community 92
Treat Customer Service as Though It's All You've Got 92
Use Social Tools to Connect with Customers 93
Applying the Small Town Rule to Big Brands 95
Summary: All Customers Can Communicate with Each Other 96
The Small Town Rule: Treat Customers Like Community 97
A Look Ahead 97
Powerhouse Small Town Brands 98
The Grasshopper Company 98
Moundridge, Kansas: Population 1,600 98
6 How Big Brands and Small Businesses Are Thinking and Acting Small 101
The Change: Society Is Cycling Back from Big to Small 102
Impact on Brands 103
Why Small Towns Create Community Interaction on a Human Scale 104
The Small Town Rule: Be Proud to Be Small 105
Build Community Through Involvement 106
Network to Build Power and Accomplish Goals 112
The Antidote for the Negatives 116
Move Past Connecting and On to Building Relationships 119
Build Community Among Customers 121
Keep the Business Small 123
Apply the Small Town Rule to Big Brands 124
Summary: Society Is Cycling Away from Big to Small 128
The Small Town Rule: Be Proud of Being Small 128
A Look Ahead 129
Powerhouse Small Town Brands 130
Longaberger Baskets 130
Dresden, Ohio: Population 1,529 130
7 Going Local, Even When You Are Big 133
The Societal Change: The Local Movement Is Here 134
Impact on Brands 135
Small Towns Define What It Means To Be Local 135
The Small Town Rule: Build Your Local Connections 136
Connect with Your Culture and Place 137
Using a Local Story to Build Engagement Like Milk 138
How to Build a Shop Local Campaign 139
Apply the Small Town Rule to Big Brands: How Brands Can Go Local 152
Summary: The Local Movement Is Here 154
The Small Town Rule: Build Your Local Connections 154
A Look Ahead 155
A Resources for Implementing the Small Town Rules 157
B Business Ideas Inspired by the Small Town Rules 171
Afterword: The Small Town Rules 183
Endnotes 189
Index 199
Overview
Technology and economics are transforming business in a completely unexpected way: even the largest companies must compete for customers as if they were small, local businesses.
Your customers are talking to their peers everywhere--and listening to each other, not your carefully crafted advertising or branding. Suddenly, communities and personal connec¿tions are critical to your success. It’s just like doing business in a small town, where ...