This issue focuses on marketing tips for small business.
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Item 2 :
Marketing Functions in Professional Services 2007
Item 3 :
Marketing for Small Business: Six Key Tips
Item 1: The Business of Social Responsibility
Eighty-four percent of executives in a 2006 global McKinsey survey agreed their companies should "pursue not only shareholder value but broader contributions to the public good".
To achieve this, a company needs to develop a coherent organisation-wide response, incorporating social issues into all aspects of the business.
The diagram below, provides an overview of McKinsey's recommended 'integrated' approach to social responsibility:
Item 2: Marketing Functions in Professional Services 2007
Dianne Davis will chair a two-day Ark Group conference on "Driving the Marketing Function in Professional Services", in Sydney, 2-4 May, at the Avillion Hotel.
The conference will assist marketing professionals (and their managers) to:
Work effectively with professional staff, demonstrating the role and importance of marketing
Quantify the value / contribution of marketing to the business
Build influence for the marketing function amongst management
Shape the firm's future business strategy & direction
Gain the funding and resources required to be effective.
For more information on the conference, call 1300 550 662 or email: aga@arkgroupasia.com
Item 3: Marketing for Small Business: Six Key Tips
In talking to and observing a diverse range of small businesses over a number of years, many neglect to observe some basic principles of sound marketing and business development.
We list below, six key marketing tips for starting and sustaining an effective small business:
Identify your market niche & understand your competition
The foundation of a successful small business is finding a market niche that is under-developed / under-exploited, and staying on top of what is happening in that niche.
Too many small business owners don't do enough home work about finding a sustainable market niche that:
Offers long-term growth (not a mature market, future business and/or legislative-regulatory trends are likely to generate demand, not already saturated with competitor offerings): Market Analysis
Provides opportunity for you to apply your specialist skills / expertise / capabilities to develop and market a differentiated offering: Competencies / Capabilities Assessment
Does not pose prohibitive barriers to entry: Investment Analysis.
Finding your niche is one thing - having a current understanding of your competitors / competitor activity is also essential. Small business owners can often be tied up working in (rather than on) the business to track what the competition is doing.
If you don't have a reasonable feel for what competitors are charging, the products-services they're offering, the alliances they have developed / are developing and the technology they're using, you are in danger of being left behind.
Key ways you can maintain competitor intelligence include:
Ask your clients about any exposure / contact they have had with competitors (e.g. what they charge, what stood out as being different/fresh )
If you participate in competitive tenders - win or lose - ask for a debrief: you're bound to get information about your competitors
Share knowledge with related businesses / consultants.
From time-to-time, undertake market research - even if only on a limited scale.
If you're starting a new business, wanting to grow / re-position an existing business, or looking to launch a new product-service offering, you need to talk to your market.
Include potential, current and (even former customers), as well as referrers (people who refer you to others / refer business to you).
Research could comprise a series of in-depth interviews with customers (say 12-15), and/or some email or telephone-based interviews.
If you need to call in some expertise - and we suggest you do - get a market research professional to:
Determine whether a quantitative or qualitative methodology (or a mix of both) best meets your needs
Help develop the research questionnaire (so that you ask the right questions, in the right way, in the right order).
Also for qualitative research, get guidance on interviewing technique (how to probe for deeper responses, not leading the interviewee, rotating questions to avoid order bias etc).
Invest time and money in creating a professional brand identity.
Small businesses can make a crucial mistake by going for a cheap brand identity option (e.g. partially designing the business card themselves / using instant printers; building a DIY website without sufficient expertise).
This creates a poor impression - it makes a company look and feel cheap. It also raises questions about the kind of service / product the customer will actually receive.
While you may have limited funds - make the important investment in:
Engaging a designer to produce a clean, modern and workable brand identity
Select good quality stock (it doesn't need to be ultra-expensive)
Explore printing options (you can achieve a good printing outcome without spending huge amounts of money)
Obtaining specialist advice on the key "do's and don'ts" related to the visual & usability elements of websites.
Network in a focused way
Time is precious - especially when you're the key person in your business - so networking to deepen existing contacts and build new contacts needs to be clearly focused.
You need to know the organisations / associations attended by the key people you need to meet (Chambers of Commerce, local chapters of professional bodies etc); you should be clear about what it is you want to achieve (introductions, business leads / referrals, deepen existing relationships etc); and you need to ensure you don't launch into 'sell mode' but, rather, listen well and pick the mood and tone of a conversation.
Finally, set some clear and measurable networking goals that support your overall objectives for the business.
We have also come to realise in the eight years we've been in business, the benefits of reciprocal networking: opening up our networks to our clients & contacts - introducing people within our network that will be beneficial / interesting for our clients to meet
Build and maintain a brand profile with your target market/s
It is important to maintain an ongoing presence / profile in the marketplace. You need to remind people you are out there.
We recommend one or more of the following four key tools:
Presentations / speeches at relevant conferences, seminars and business associations (if you lack confidence in this regard get some presentation training; if it's not something you're comfortable doing, explore other options)
PR-media (develop relationships with key journalists - and make yourself available when they contact you; be prepared to comment on issues - have an opinion; develop news stories / angles and pitch them to journalists; write a column for a local newspaper; produce online newsletters)
Develop a survey concept relevant to your target audience (e.g. in 2004 - in conjunction with law firm marketing specialists, Galt Advisory - we undertook research into law firms and branding. It generated PR coverage in the business media and formed the basis for a 3-hour chargeable workshop)
Email newsletters: but make them topical and concise, and get the frequency right (e.g. monthly is probably too often).
Quality customer service
Small businesses can fail to embrace the fundamentals of good customer service, such as:
Not returning client / prospect phone calls the same day
Not responding to client / prospect emails the same day
Being consistently late for meetings
Not sticking to the agreed budget (and including add-ons)
Not immediately advising clients-customers if there are going to be unforeseen delays to the agreed timetable
Not invoicing clients-customers within a reasonable time frame (making you look less than professional, not to mention negatively impacting your cash flow).
These are customer service basics - but many small businesses don't get them right.
At the next level of service delivery, you can:
Provide examples-simulations of the service/s and products a customer will receive (at no extra cost)
Share information-intellectual capital with customers (at no cost)
Use your own network / contacts to benefit your customers
Look after referrers (e.g. refer work to them).
NEXT ISSUE: EFFECTIVE COMMISSIONING & MANAGEMENT OF MARKET RESEARCH PROJECTS
