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Blog Bling
Aug
28
Is Fedex Competing with Its Small Business Customers?
August 28, 2005 | Anita Campbell
David Lazarus, who writes a column for the San Francisco Chronicle, reports that some business owners believe FedEx (the post-Kinko’s-acquisition-FedEx, that is) is competing against them.
Since the Kinko’s acquisition, FedEx has gotten into the retail business in a big way. The article points to the items that FedEx Kinko’s sells online. The article has the requisite interview with a small business owner who finds that Kinko’s is selling one of the same items as his own business sells, but at a few dollars less.
So, is this really about competing with customers?
Or is the real issue here one of a small business discovering that competition based solely on price is a losing proposition? After all, it is not as if FedEx is the only large corporation selling office supplies and photo greeting cards. If it’s not Fedex undercutting the price a small business offers, it will be Office Max or Staples or Sam’s Club or ….
Every business advisor I know tells small businesses to focus on underserved niches, or offer extra high-touch service. The one thing they always stress to small retail businesses: “do not try to compete on price alone — you’ll get killed.”
I’m not saying it is a good thing for any small business to find its price is undercut by the big boys. I’m just saying it is the reality of the free-market economic system of the United States.
There is another reality too: that large corporations risk bad PR when they sell to both small businesses and the end consumers their small business customers serve. The perception can be one of Goliath squashing David. Effective PR is a must in these situations.
