If you are a small business owner, you can’t out-Amazon Amazon on price. You can’t out-Amazon Amazon on delivery speed. You can’t out-Amazon Amazon on scale.
Let’s face it: you can’t out-Amazon Amazon, period.
Amazon customers can click a button and have something tomorrow (or even today!) for less than your wholesale cost. If you try and compete, your margins will disappear. So, what’s a small business owner to do?
It’s time to think differently about what you’re selling.
Let me give you an example: When I asked the owner of an electrical supply company what he sells, he told me what you’d expect: electrical outlets, wires, cables, fixtures, etc. But when I asked him to talk about his interactions with clients, he used words like “support,” “education,” “training,” and “relationships.” Unlike Amazon, my client is not just selling a product – he’s selling a customer relationship and everything that goes with it.
Stitch Fix is another good example. They define themselves as “the original online personal styling service with Stylists who get you.” What they ship is clothes, but the clothes are secondary. What they’re really selling is:
- Personal curation
- Time savings
- Style confidence (“I look good and didn’t have to think about it.”)
If you believe you’re only selling a product, you’re in trouble.
The value you provide to your customers is what you’re actually selling: a result, a feeling, a solution. Think about your neighborhood paint store. A big-box store sells paint by the gallon, but a local store offers:
- Design advice
- Color matching expertise
- Project guidance
- Troubleshooting
So, when someone pays a $10 to $20-per-gallon premium to purchase their paint locally, they’re not just buying paint. They’re paying to avoid making a $2,000 design mistake. That reassurance clearly has value.
Your challenge is to define the value of what you’re selling.
This is not a Jedi Mind Trick – it’s a strategic shift in the way you think about how your business fits in today’s world. It’s about thinking “We compete differently” instead of “We can’t compete.”
If your only differentiator is price, you are in a race to the bottom. If your differentiator is value, you’re building something sustainable. Ask yourself:
- What problem do I solve better than anyone else?
- What do customers thank me for?
- What do customers rely on me for that Amazon cannot provide?
Your answers are your value proposition. Make sure you and your team can articulate it in one sentence – because if you can’t, your customer can’t either.
Stop trying to beat Amazon at their game – and start winning at yours.
The truth is, you aren’t competing with Amazon; you’re competing with indifference. You win by offering what can’t be shipped in a cardboard box: real value.
