Small Business Marketing Research
Research conducted by the Society for Executive Wisdom in 2009 has provided the following extraordinary results of Australian Small Business.
- 59% consider marketing to be one of a number of important issues
- 36% report it is their key growth strategy (marketing)
- Businesses in operation for more than five (5) years tend to consider marketing to be an important but not the key issue
- More than one in three (35%) of small businesses set a marketing budget of between $5,000 and $20,000 for 2009
- 62% of business less than one year in operation (believe marketing is critical to the growth of their business) have only budgeted up to $5,000
- 95% expect to increase or spend the equivalent on networking in 2009
- 85% expect to increase or spend the equivalent for both website development & management as well as brochures and marketing collateral
- 53% cite the number of new leads generated as the main measure for ROI (Return on Investment)
If you are currently involved in running a business, either as an owner-manager, or as someone responsible for the marketing strategy in your organisation, or if you are planning to start a new business, then understanding the new world of marketing in this current rough economy is vital to your business success and longevity.
"Research conducted by Executive Wisdom, coupled with my experiences, has clearly indicated there are twelve (12) key areas of marketing activity which are crucial if you are to be successful. This applies to any business, but especially SMEs (small and medium size enterprises)," said Mr. Ric Willmot, Managing Director of Executive Wisdom.
"Not surprisingly an ability to excel in each of these areas is what sets apart winners from the rest," Mr. Ric Willmot added.
But, where do you start? Here are six of the twelve recommendations of Mr. Ric Willmot:
1. Company-wide sales culture
Organisations are successful in direct proportion to the extent to which they satisfy customers. A customer-driven business is one in which there is a company-wide commitment to satisfy customers.
First: Satisfy customers, those unreasonable, emotional and awkward people who seem to have only one thing going for them. They give you their money!
Second: Satisfy customers, those impertinent people who expect us to do it their way, and at their convenience, just because they are paying us!
Third: Satisfy customers, those disloyal people, who at the drop of a hat, would rather spend their money elsewhere if they think they're going to get better value on a product or service that's more closely tailored to their needs!
2. Use business data to dramatically increase your success rate
Continually engage in a process of obtaining specific information from the marketplace for the purpose of making better quality decisions about what to sell, to whom and in what way. Willmot suggests that if you think there is a gap in the market, market research will tell you if there's a market in the gap.
3. Formulation of an effective engagement strategy
Creating a winning marketing strategy involves the careful positioning of a product or service in the marketplace so that it has a unique appeal to a certain group of target customers and is difficult for competitors to copy. Effective strategy is the pursuit of the right customers, with the right offering, in the right way, at the right time.
4. Become a nexus
Become a nexus organisation (person). A place where people come to get what they need, whether you have it or not. They just know that you will have the answers and steer them in the right direction no matter what. Develop a systematic approach to identifying potential ways to attract customers to you, using a variety of methods.
5. Audit your business communication
Design and implement methods of hearing the customer. Such as: Focus Groups, Customer Panels, Interviews and more. Executive Wisdom has created a spreadsheet showing the nature & purpose, advantages and disadvantages of varying business communication tools called: Tools for Hearing the Customer.
6. Take action and start the improvement today
The term customer relationships refers to the extent to which there is a feeling of relatedness and rapport between a business and its customers. Attach a high priority to make certain customers keep coming back. "Many businesses see the sale as the end of the process, whereas most customers see it as just the beginning of a relationship," say Ric Willmot.
If you would like to bring expertise to your specific marketing strategy, contact Executive Wisdom on +61 7 3395-1050
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