Tom Egelhoff’s business tips to be included in MSNBC business book.

Tom Egelhoff, host of "Open for Business" on Saturdays, 11-2 PM on KMMS has been invited to contribute to a new book from the "Your Business" TV show on MSNBC. An MSNBC producer contacted Tom for permission to use a quote from an article written on

Tom's 14 year old web site www.smalltownmarketing.com.

They have agreed on the following quote that will appear in the book due out in Oct 2012 and published by Hachette Publishing:

How to Compete with the Big Box Stores
Underprice them.  Yes, you heard me right.  Charge less for your products than they do.  But here’s the catch – don’t do it all of the time.  As a small business owner, you certainly can’t charge less for your products than, let’s say, Wal-Mart which has enormous purchasing power that you don’t.  But, you can beat them on price for an item or two for, as an example, four hours on a Saturday.

That’s what Tom Egelhoff, owner of Bozeman, MT-based, smalltownmarketing.com says.  If you make your offer splashy enough, you can draw people into your store – and then get them to return by wowing them with your attention to customer service, your convenient location, your smaller size and the other competitive advantages you have over a big box store.

Sidebar:  The cost of this promotion can be shared with your suppliers.  Ask them for a good deal on a limited supply of their product – it may be worth it for them as a way to market their product as well.