What can big business teach small business about marketing?

1. Re-think marketing: Good marketing is good for business

Firstly, marketing and business are inextricably linked. The reason is quite simple: marketing affects everything. It defines what your business is all about, how products are sold, who consumes it, how it is portrayed advertising, Facebook posts, how the receptionist answers the phone, the next email you send. It is inseparable from your business. We must stop thinking that marketing is a tool to find you new business. Marketing is business. And good marketing really works.

Big business invests billions into marketing each year. Why? Because good marketing has a direct impact on turnover and profits. It should not be a grudge purchase or nice-to-have, but rather considered an investment and a strategic priority. What is your marketing budget for 2016? Do you have one? Defining a marketing budget and a clear set of marketing objectives, linked to your overall business objectives, is a good place to start.

2. Establish your brand: People buy brands

People don’t buy businesses, they buy brands. This is important, as it allows the manufacturers of these goods and services an opportunity to position their product beyond simply how it performs functionally. What makes a product unique and different to competitor products? How does a product make the consumer feel when buying it and using it? By building equity into a brand, big business: attracts new consumers; allows them to charge a premium for their products; as well as incentivise repeat consumers.

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Before you start any marketing activity, ensure you have a solid brand to build from. Big businesses are constantly investing in this and ensuring their brand is well defined and relevant to their consumers. Without this foundation, all marketing efforts will be shaky and not deliver your desired results.

3. Know thy customer

As mentioned in the previous point, consumer relevance is key. Almost every large corporate in South Africa would have at some stage embarked on a complicated and costly consumer segmentation strategy. Essentially, defining bespoke subsets of their target market, allowing them to tailor certain messages and products to specific groups. Done correctly, the efficiencies and benefits are enormous.

Most SME’s would never need to go into this level of detail but the principle of understanding your customer is paramount. Who is your core target market? What do they think of your brand? What do they think of competitor products? What do your existing customers think of your service and offering? Do you have a customer relationship marketing (CRM) programme? There are many cost effective ways to get valuable insights from your potential and historic customers, which could be the game-changer you have been looking for.

4. Marketing is measureable: Measure what matters

Marketing has become more and more measureable. It’s no longer a matter of putting out communication with a “spray and pray” approach and hoping the phones start ringing. Marketing is a science, now more than ever before. With the advancements of digital communication, everything is measureable and benchmarked, allowing you to test and improve in real time. It’s about being clear with what you want to achieve, testing, measuring the results and continually optimising.

Big business are portioning more and more of their marketing Rands into digital channels each year and they are seeing the positive results. This does not mean you need to suddenly build a Facebook page or start Tweeting. Most businesses shouldn’t. Do you have a website? Is it part of a broader digital strategy? How does a successful visitor to your site interact with the website?

By simply ensuring your website is holding true to its reason for being, can be found easily by Google, incorporates Google Analytics (giving you invaluable data) and you invest a few thousand Rands each month into Google Adwords, you’re already halfway there.

5. Think long term: It wins every time

My dentist told me the other day, “dentistry is not expensive, irregular dentistry is expensive.” Marketing effectively is no different. Marketing is not a silver bullet that can quickly patch a sinking business. It is a long and purposeful journey made up of many steps and a focused strategy. Take your time and do it right the first time. It will save you time and money down the line.

Client partnerships are also long term. Watson Ferguson’s ambition is to make long lasting relationships with our clients and see their respective businesses flourish. When looking for the right marketing partner, make sure they are in it for the ups and downs and ultimately, the long term. Experience has shown, if both partners are in it for the right reasons and for the long term, success for both parties are indivisibly linked.

Because after all, if you grow, your marketing partner grows too.