Will your business be able to survive when a big discount retailer starts selling the same products as you do in your town? If a large-volume chain store retailer hasn't threatened your business yet... it's only a matter of time until they do. Will you be able to compete? You can, if you follow some tried-and-true marketing strategies.

These days, Wal-Mart is the king of the discount merchandisers. The Bentonville, Arkansas, company has annual revenues in excess of $100 billion. It recently expanded into Argentina, Brazil, China and Hong Kong. Wal-Mart's success was widely credited for pushing K-Mart into bankruptcy in 2002. (Of course, how many small businesses Wal-Mart pushed into bankruptcy through its bare-knuckles type business competition will never be known.)

But Wal-Mart isn't your only concern as a local business person. Dozens of other big retail merchandisers and discount "warehouse" outlets are in business, too. Sears, K-Mart, Home Depot, Builder's Square, and others all would like to have the opportunity to take customers away from you. They try to get these customers by emphasizing their primary strength: the ability to offer hundreds of thousands of items for sale, often at discount prices. But these mega-retailers have weaknesses, too. And if you learn to exploit those weaknesses, your business can thrive -- and even grow -- in the face of competition from these retail giants.

Here's five suggestions to help you prosper in the face of competition from the retail giants:

Create your own market niche

Regardless of whether your competition is big or small, you need to create and maintain your own specific market in which to work. This market area, or "niche" is populated by the customers that you can serve better than any of your competition. To help you figure out who these people are, and how to serve them, ask yourself: What makes my business different from the competition? What makes people who do business with me different from people who trade with my competitors? What unique qualifications do I have in the industry? What can I provide that customers can't get anywhere else? Do everything you can to make your business unique among all the companies that work in your general product/service area.

This strategy can be especially successful when your business is challenged by the big retailers. Even though the average big volume retailer may have 70,000 items in the store, the retailer still cannot possibly offer the range of specific products, equipment, parts, supplies and service that you can. So, eliminate from your inventory any general items not specifically sought after by the people in your market niche. That way, you leave to the retail giants the product areas in which you cannot compete, and emphasize for yourself the product areas where you do have a distinct advantage.

Market your professional expertise

You've invested a lot of years and a lot of money to become a business professional. So use that expertise to your advantage! Do everything you can to solve problems for customers (as opposed to just selling them equipment or supplies). Remember the last time you went into a big chain store and couldn't find anyone working there who knew anything about the item you wanted to buy? It's a frustrating feeling... and something your customers should never have to face, because you have the knowledge and experience that's as valuable as the product itself. All you need to do is market it!

And, by the way... if you have people working for you who are not "up to speed" on all your product and service offerings, train them! It will hurt your business if employees cannot answer questions or arrange for service on all the major equipment that your business sells.

Sell with service

Make sure that you have a strong commitment to service after the sale. Every time you install equipment in a customer's home or business (no matter how small the sale was, in terms of the dollars spent) you should leave a nameplate on the equipment, with your company's name and telephone number permanently affixed. That way the customer can call you when service is needed.

You also need to make a follow-up phone call or personal visit within three days after the installation to make sure everything's working OK. It shows the customer you still care (even after the check has been cashed!). Then, at least annually, you should be following up again with a phone call, letter, or personal visit to stay in touch with the customer and inquire about any new needs. This is something most chain stores do not (and often cannot) do. And it's one big way you can make your business stand head and shoulders above your retail competitors.

Remember, the biggest hurdle to overcome in acquiring a customer is getting the customer to trust you. Once you've already earned a customer's trust, it's easy to sell to that customer again and again.

Re-sell with returns

One of the key factors in Wal-Mart's success is the company's no hassle return policy. While other retailers make returning an item about as pleasant as The Spanish Inquisition, Wal-Mart makes returns easy. No receipt necessary. No huge form to fill out. No embarrassing questions. No hassle. Learn from this!--Especially if your business sells lots of parts and supplies over the counter. If you make a customer mad over a $9 return, you can lost hundreds of dollars in future sales, and gain an ex-customer who will bad-mouth your business all over town.

A customer return is a signal that there was insufficient service, either at the time of the sale to the customer or shortly thereafter. If the customer returns the item, it's your opportunity to sell the customer the correct item, or additional products, to make things right.

Make your schedule fit the customer's

Finally, you need to make your business schedule fit the schedule of the customers in your market niche. I used to live in Lawton, Oklahoma, which is home to thousands of U.S. Army infantry and field artillery soldiers at Fort Sill. Many retailers in the community stay open long hours, to serve a large base of customers who do not work "9 to 5" jobs. (In fact, a community college in Lawton was establishing a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week schedule for college classes. It's being done in recognition of the fact that many potential students are people who work shift work, and cannot take college classes during "normal" business hours.)

Whatever your specific line of products or services, you need to be able to contact customers when those customers can be reached. This may mean having to run customer service calls after 6 p.m., or do installations on weekends. Whatever it takes, you should do it... because if you don't, a competitor certainly will!

Above all, don't let your business become a shrinking violet. Make sure your company's name and logo is highly visible in the community. Let people identify with you through your cars and trucks travelling between jobs, your place of business, your letterhead and brochures, and through your retail and telephone directory advertising. Local community businesses like yours only get challenged by the mega- retailers when it looks like there's a market to be captured. Don't give up that market up without a fight! And by all means take advantage of the strategies already outlined here, to help your business grow even in the face of "giant" retail competition.