Comments on: Competing with Walmart – this guy gets it.

By: Hotcars

Hotcars — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:42:14 +0000

small business will always exist because there will always be a nice percentage of people who will love small shops .

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 00:13:06 +0000

Bill,

Yes, it is 25 miles round trip from Whitefish to Kalispell and back.

Still, people go to Kalispell regularly for something. Will they stop at Wal-Mart as part and parcel of that trip? Perhaps.

Rick obviously recognizes that he has to provide something other than price to keep them coming to his place, otherwise he risks become just another place to buy arts and crafts.

The key to remember is that the true purpose of making the sale is to get a customer. A lot of retailers that compete with Wal-Mart forget that simple fact and choose to fight a losing battle on price, never a wise thing when Wal-Mart is the competitor.

By: Bill Hollin

Bill Hollin — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 23:06:32 +0000

The problem with this is that the nearest Wal-Mat is 25 minutes away in Kalispell – and a lot of folks won’t drive that far for a 20.00 or less purchase – which seems to me to be the bread and butter of a crafts store….how much would you save on a 20.00 purchase? 2.00 – maybe?

I am in Missoula and shop at Ace Hardware rather than Home Depot for many of the reasons – EXCEPT when I am spending in excess of 100.00. Then it’s worth it to deal with the aggravation of N. Reserve.

By: Glenn (Customer Service Experience Ross)

Glenn (Customer Service Experience Ross) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 02:06:33 +0000

Great post, Mark! Here’s a manual trackback:
http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/relationship-marketing/4967735-1.html

By: MoneyVelocity.com » Blog Archive » Competing with Walmart - this guy gets it. | Mark Riffey’s Small Business

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:54:43 +0000

[...] with Wally World, but there’s always room for one more. This retailer has found the answer.read more | digg [...]

By: Eliezer Gonzalez

Eliezer Gonzalez — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 03:46:28 +0000

I love it…. winners do change the rules of the game…. sometimes for ever.

Small businesses have such an advantage over the big guys, particularly in customer retention!

By: Independent Street : The Wal-Mart Era--Not All Bad For Small Business

Independent Street : The Wal-Mart Era--Not All Bad For Small Business — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 03:09:33 +0000

[...] Streets. But I’d also suggest Wal-Mart has forced small firms to be better. Examples like this one of an arts-and-craft store in Montana show how entrepreneurs crack the code by doing what Wal-Mart [...]