Small businesses often struggle to compete with large corporations due to limited marketing budgets. _____ many local companies have found...
GMAT Expression of Ideas : (Expression) Questions
Small businesses often struggle to compete with large corporations due to limited marketing budgets. _____ many local companies have found success by focusing on personalized customer service and building strong community relationships, which larger competitors cannot easily replicate.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Therefore,
For example,
However,
Similarly,
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Small businesses often struggle to compete with large corporations due to limited marketing budgets." |
|
| [MISSING TRANSITION] |
|
| "many local companies have found success by focusing on personalized customer service and building strong community relationships, which larger competitors cannot easily replicate." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Visual Structure Map:
[CHALLENGE] Small biz struggle vs. big corps (marketing budget limits) -> [MISSING CONNECTOR] -> [SUCCESS STORY] Local companies succeed via personal touch + community focus
Main Point: Despite marketing budget limitations, small businesses can compete successfully by leveraging personalized service and community relationships that large corporations cannot easily replicate.
Argument Flow: The passage presents a common business challenge, then shows how some companies have overcome this challenge through alternative strategies that play to their strengths rather than trying to match corporate resources.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The connector must bridge the gap between "small businesses struggle" and "many have found success"
- We need a word that signals contrast or contradiction - the second part goes against what we'd expect from the first part
- The relationship is: Despite the struggle mentioned, here's evidence of success
- The right answer should signal that what follows contradicts or contrasts with the challenge presented in the first sentence
Therefore,
- This indicates cause and effect, suggesting the success follows logically from the struggle
- This doesn't make sense - struggling with marketing budgets wouldn't logically lead to finding success
For example,
- This suggests the second part will illustrate or provide a specific instance of the struggle mentioned
- But the second part describes success, not more examples of struggling
However,
- This signals contrast between the struggle and the success that follows
- This matches our prethinking perfectly - it shows that despite the challenges, success is still possible
Similarly,
- This suggests the second part will describe something comparable to struggling
- But finding success is the opposite of struggling, not similar to it