Of the three superstores, Staples.com seems to be beating the
competition from an analyst's perspective. "Office Depot
and OfficeMax have online sites, but it seems to me that they
haven't really created a services platform for their
small-business customer," says analyst Kneko Burney, director
of eBusiness Infrastructure & Services at Cahners In-Stat
Group. "Staples has just always been really innovative, and
they have a phenomenal distribution network."
It turns out that the majority of business owners consider
reliability and service rather than price to be their main
priorities in purchasing office supplies, and Staples.com seems to
have beaten the competition on those levels. "Their customer
support is outstanding. The e-mail responses have been accurate and
blazingly fast," says Ramon Ray, an analyst at Smallbiztechnology.com, a
New York City-based company that provides strategic technology
solutions to small businesses.
With this shift from in-store to online purchasing, companies
have been striving to add value for entrepreneurs via additional
online services, such as payroll and recruiting. "You'll
see that [Office Depot's] goal is not just to aggregate
hundreds of services," says Luechtefeld. "[Instead,] what
businesses want us to be is that trusted partner in helping them
find the best quality."
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And it's quality of products and services that office-supply
stores hope to provide to entrepreneurs. The weeding-out of
lower-quality items also seems to be one of Staples' strengths.
"They go through a significant due diligence process
that's really beneficial for customers," according to
Burney.
The bottom line: You don't want to get stuck taking mental
notes during an important meeting because your office-supply store
of choice is late on yet another delivery. Just because a store
carries your favorite pen or notepad doesn't mean it's your
best choice. Look at the big picture, and remember that this is a
long-term decision.
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