Small Town Rules: How Big Brands And Small Businesses Can Prosper In A Connectd Economy

Description

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 connections 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

SmallTownRules

* 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

CONTENTS:

Introduction 1

Chapter 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

Chapter 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

Chapter 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

Chapter 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

Chapter 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

Chapter 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

Chapter 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

Appendix A Resources for Implementing the Small Town Rules 157

Appendix B Business Ideas Inspired by the Small Town Rules 171

Afterword: The Small Town Rules 183

Endnotes 189

Index 199