Marketing for Small & Medium Sized Business
At Mind Methods we deeply understand and value the unique nature of the Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) world. We are one ourselves (small that is) and although we have experience working with global brands and large corporations, we are also aware of the different needs of SMEs when it comes to sales and marketing.
The partners at Mind Methods have had a great deal of exposure to SMEs throughout our careers as well as through our social relationships. It's an area that we are all passionate about, as it provides us with a unique test and challenges our marketing prowess, both in strategy and implementation.
Here are some of our views on marketing for SMEs:
1. They need (and deserve) decent branding
It is frustrating to see SMEs neglect a basic branding exercise, skimping on their logo and brand development. It's like going to your own wedding and not buying a suit, but rather putting on an old pair of shorts, wearing your worn-out thongs and a $5 t-shirt you bought from K-Mart.
Most SMEs are truly passionate about what they do and about making a difference for their customers and clients. They don't have the big budgets of the big end of town, but they have buckets of enthusiasm, work ethic and they genuinely care. This is essential for any brand, so we believe that even with smaller budgets, SMEs can make a true impact through solid branding as they express the genuine values and quality that they live by.
SMEs should consider the impression they would like to portray about their business. If they cannot afford a full brand project, then at minimum they should invest in a solid logo that can be used consistently by everyone in the business, across all materials and this way, they will get the most bang for their buck from investing in it.
2. Regular communications are vital
Although SME budgets are often smaller (and vary over time), they can still focus on creating great content that illustrates their passion and expertise in their area of work. Regular marketing communications are an affordable option and can help small businesses continue to get their word out there, without spending large sums of money in advertising.
Put simply, regular communications will result in more people knowing what you do, how you do it and why you're doing it. This in turn will inevitably reach someone that has a need for what you do (and likes what you have said), generating potential leads, opportunities and sales.
Not communicating regularly means that you could be the very best at what you do, but unfortunately not enough people will know about it. Word of mouth is great for a while, but for real growth, SMEs need to help encourage and facilitate this word-of-mouth across a range of mediums.
3. They need a plan, but implementation is key
SMEs simply do not have the time to keep perfecting and planning. Having a basic plan (and evolving it over time) is very important, but implementing activities, testing ideas and continuously improving is critical.
SMEs can now access a myriad of contemporary tools that are affordable and that can help them implement their ideas efficiently. To use these tools effectively, it is essential that communications are managed by marketing professionals, either internal, external through an agency partner or both.
How we support SMEs
We believe that SMEs need to be experts in doing what they do best, not in marketing. With our SME clients we realise that they are the experts in their business and in the knowledge of what they do, what their customers/clients want and what value they provide.
We listen to our SMEs and ask the questions that other agencies don't. We then take ownership of the best ways to articulate and communicate these messages. We take the burden of being the experts in marketing away and then apply the very best strategies and tactics on their behalf, making sure that we stay within budgets that are feasible and affordable for the business at the time.
Below we've provided a few links to some of the SMEs that we've been supporting, from Mortgage Brokers, to Barristers, Interior Designers and PR Agencies.
Check out some of the great value SME Websites we've developed, all mobile responsive and with full content control for the client:
www.awpr.com.au
If you are an SME or work within one and want to take your marketing to another level, please get in touch to see how we can support you with high quality and great value marketing services.
