*Research Scholar, Lalit Mohan Thapar School of Management, Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab, India
**Assistant Professor, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
***Professor and Head, School of Behavioral Sciences and Business Studies, Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab, India
****Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
Whilst there are firms having clear strategic intent either as low cost provider or differentiator, we look at the fate of firms that choose to “flow with the wind” and may appear to be doing well but are actually sitting on a time-bomb. With the passage of time these firm become irrelevant due to technology obsolescence, disruptive innovation and competitive pricing. Application of Marketing Concept as a strategic choice to pre-empt competition, it is being argued could be the way forward particularly where basic offering are same or similar and available resources are dear. The research looks at the plight of businesses that are small and independent by taking an elaborate case study of an independent automobile workshop operating in the SMB space. They may appear to be doing well but a deeper investigation exposes the vulnerabilities that could be fatal with the march of time. Focus on 3 P's viz people, process and physical evidence with an innovative approach would be helpful for SMBs. Further a proactive focus strategy was also found to be quite helpful for SMBs for business sustenance and growth.
SMBs, Generic Strategies, Marketing Concept, Global Competition, Automobile Workshop, Firm Performance
