competitive advantage

Why Every Business Needs an Innovative Person (or Two)

by Douw G Steyn
September 30, 2019May 15, 2023

Most of us won’t recognize an innovative person in a group of people. Indeed, maybe you’ve worked for years alongside an innovative colleague without noticing him. Even more, you’re so used to his behavior and mannerisms that you have tagged him as “odd”, but manageable.

For that reason you have all along squandered an opportunity to lift your company out of mediocrity into competitiveness… Consequently, it’s very regressive indeed. But let’s have a look at innovative persons, how to recognize them, how to utilize them and how to keep them.

However, first we need to understand what innovation is…

Targeting a Niche Market is a Way for Small Online Retailers to Sidestep Big Competition

by Douw G Steyn
March 15, 2018June 3, 2018
9 Comments

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The market dominance of the online retail giant Amazon.com and multi-channel retailer Walmart is a huge barrier for anyone who wants to start selling products online. As a result, the big retailers can be found anywhere online. They offer a large variety of products at ridiculous low prices. Moreover, they promise to deliver products within a couple of days of ordering. And they take the return of products in their stride. So, how on earth can you, as an owner of a Shopify or Woo Commerce website, compete with Amazon and Walmart? The answer is to develop a niche market for your business.

Making Money Online Requires Analysis, Planning, Effort and Lots of Patience

by Douw G Steyn
February 19, 2018June 3, 2018
14 Comments

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It seems that right now is the best time for making money online. According to Statista.com, retail e-commerce sales worldwide amounted to 1.86 trillion US dollars during 2016 and online retail revenues are projected to grow to 4.48 trillion US dollars in 2021.

3D Printing Technology for Retailers – An Opportunity or a Waste of Money?

by Douw G Steyn
June 12, 2017June 3, 2018
27 Comments

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3D printing technology for retailers is now emerging as an outcome for small localized retailers that are facing closure. However, as it is with most disruptive technologies, the advantages that 3D printing offer for retailers should be weighed against its potential pitfalls.

Big Data for Small Retailers – Is it Doable?

by Douw G Steyn
April 30, 2017May 12, 2020
88 Comments

Do Big Data for small retailers offer an opportunity to compete with the big retailers or is it too much trouble? One of the fall outs of the digitization of business is the massive amount of data that are everywhere.