SME’s are more under pressure then ever before and yet while most are undoubtedly emotionally attached to their companies, they often appear to their larger brethren as fearless in getting through crises, with their management typically more centrally focused and able to make quicker decisions.

Yet when it comes to marketing, SMEs are typically somewhat more tentative. And they needn’t be.

Whatever the sector, whatever the current and potential customer base, there are creative and media strategies where a brave yet prudent approach can happily live side by side and bear fruit. With a combination of insightful, impactful content, consistently deployed across paid, owned and earned media, SMEs can build a continuum of activity that will give a greater return on engagement and ultimately a return on investment, whether that be B2B or B2C.

Take the financial services sector. From accountancy firms to IFAs, there are sizeable established businesses out there that “…are doing very nicely, thank you” and so too often are standing still when it comes to growth.

Growing a customer base, for example, can come from underpinning your marketing with messages of greater differentiation. Yet how does one accountant differentiate itself from another when they are essentially undertaking the same core jobs? Similarly, how does an IFA differentiate itself from another and not simply point to ‘customer service’.

In the Charity/NFP sector, where budgets have always been limited, there’s also caution, particularly for those organisations that are not necessarily top-of-mind.

Yet, there are many well governed, fiscally fit charities where they can be single-minded in their proposition, so they can be well positioned to give good reason for supporters to come on-board. This, despite the fact that in specific segments of the charity sector, there’s seemingly much duplication of services and so it’s perhaps not surprising there are many blurred lines when communicating the differing activities of charities.

However, with insights uncovered one can better define those lines and through greater differentiation provide the clarity across all marketing content for a charity brand to be distinct in the eye of potential supporters and distinguished for the good work it does and what it achieves.

On the media planning and buying front, deploying ‘proper’ media doesn’t have to be solely the domain of the big brands. For growing brands that want to grow some more there are opportunities aplenty, which the media companies are reaching out with, to get your brand on-board. Through qualitative insights, data and case studies, they’ll provide the evidence that these can work for your organisation and at affordable levels.

So, at a time of multiple media touchpoints, that can present a bewildering array of options to consider for those not buying media regularly, it’s comforting to know and it was ever thus, that you can segment your marketplace and audiences to grow your customer base and even appeal to future business partners and stockists for example, when deploying the right channels. With the right content of course!

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