This is a subject near and dear to me. I was one of the big chain guys, competing with "mom & pops" and other big chains. We always tried to get each restaurant to compete on a local trade area basis, acting as if they were the only restaurant of their kind, with no big brand or marketing to rely on. I maintain that any good local business should be impervious to the big brand invading their neighborhood, if they are doing their job right. For that matter, any bit brand local business should be able to defend themselves from another competitor opening in their neighborhood using the same tactics. First, watch the video at Reason TV that made me think of this post:
The secret of success? Operate your business better than the manager the big chain hired to run theirs. Cleaner, more appealing, better service, more relevant to the locality, better quality, more fresh, more involved in local marketing opportunities. Those businesses that fail in the face of competition probably are unable to withstand the short term sales decline that comes when a new competitor draws clients away for a trial run, and may not have a fundamental strength that brings clients back. For those businesses that expect local trade to be a captive audience, who don't have a defining benefit that customers want or need, they are just potential failures waiting for a competitor to put them deservedly out of business.
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