Why Customers are Shifting to Smaller Vendors

Great post over at Harvard Business' blog by Peter Bregman on why small businesses will win in the current economy. It was posted back in March, but highlighted today by PE Hub. It many ways, it reflects the experience of many of our emerging tech clients, who have seen meaningful uptake in customer traction in the first quarter of this year.

Bregman suggests that small businesses are benefiting from an across-the-board loss of confidence in larger corporations. Internally, Bregman says, middle and senior management no longer trust that their jobs are secure, which in turn impacts their ability to sell effectively. As a result, large as well as small customers are increasingly turning to lean, smaller businesses where founders are available by phone, and where employees a sense of security and trust, which they in turn communicate to customers.

"We simply don't trust companies anymore," Bregman says. "We trust people."

Bregman concludes that this "gap in confidence" remains a huge opportunity for small companies on the rise: "Small is the new big. Sustainable is the new growth. Trust is the new competitive advantage."

Great stuff. Read it here.