Marketing to SMEs Best Practice Guide

Published April 2013

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Marketing to SMEs Best Practice Guide B2B Marketing 2013

Order the full report today: 020 7438 1370 b2bmarketing.net/smes-bestpractice

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About this report

This Marketing to SMEs Best Practice Guide was produced by B2B Marketing, with contributions from 1&1 Internet, Decision Point, Hiscox, ITPR, Matthews the Printers, Powwownow and Tomorrow People. This report helps B2B marketers and inuencers understand how to market eectively to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and understand issues surrounding this objective. Best Practice Guides are a regular series of products produced by B2B Marketing. They are available free to Premium Members of B2B Marketing, or otherwise can be purchased online for 99 plus VAT. Key takeaways are available to download for free.

Marketing to SMEs Best Practice Guide B2B Marketing 2013

Order the full report today: 020 7438 1370 b2bmarketing.net/smes-bestpractice

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1. About the SME market

Small business is anything but small in the British economy. SMEs account for 99.9 per cent of all enterprises in
the UK. Over half of private sector employment is accountable to SMEs and 48.8 per cent of private sector turnover comes from the market.

Construction is the UKs largest business sector by number of enterprises. While the UK may once have been
referred to as a nation of shopkeepers, data shows there are 876,000 construction businesses.

The bad news is SMEs are notoriously diicult to research. They can behave vastly dierent in specic

situations and will have a lower level of consumption for your products than the major businesses you already count as customers.

SMEs have become more hostile to anything that interrupts their day. Time pressures are more accute in
smaller businesses and worsened economic conditions havent helped.

Marketing to SMEs Best Practice Guide B2B Marketing 2013

Order the full report today: 020 7438 1370 b2bmarketing.net/smes-bestpractice

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2. Data and insight

You should always be learning about your customers and their innate needs. You need to continually study
your customers do you really know how they go about their day-to-day business, what are they interested in etc?

Use new techniques where available, but dont forget the traditional methods. Regular meetings with your

customers are a perfect opportunity to explore how their markets are changing and what challenges they face.

Create an online community among customers and prospects to evaluate opportunities. This can be a cost-

eective way of generating valuable insight, which then feeds into how you develop your products and services to meet their needs.

A data and insight programme should never be seen as a one-o process. How you use the results generated
and how you keep that data and insight relevant and current will determine how successful your business is.

Marketing to SMEs Best Practice Guide B2B Marketing 2013

Order the full report today: 020 7438 1370 b2bmarketing.net/smes-bestpractice

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3. Brand and positioning

Repositioning and rebranding are dierent things. The former is about changing the placement of your
products and the latter is about changing your brand identity.

Remember people buy from people. Although you are targeting SMEs, dont consider your target as a material business
entity void of people and personality.

Dont resist changes in your target market. Reposition your business carefully when necessary and your
business will be stronger as a result.

Be authentic and true to your SHAPE to nd your natural t in the market. Whats your current situation (S)?

What human resources (H) do you have? What can you do best with your resources ability (A), what areas are your leadership passionate about (P)? What have you learnt from past experiences (E)?

Be consistent and ensure synergy between your brand and positioning. When done well, they work in tandem
to highlight a companys unique strengths.

Marketing to SMEs Best Practice Guide B2B Marketing 2013

Order the full report today: 020 7438 1370 b2bmarketing.net/smes-bestpractice

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4. Communications channels
Oline marketing is expensive and unstrategic. But some marketers are making a success of direct mail and
print despite the odds.

Telemarketing is dead. SMEs dont respond well to a hard sell that interrupts their busy day. Only call
prospects who have engaged with your company already.

Earning trust is vital in the SME market where business owners are time-poor and cynicism-rich. Social
media bridges this gap, and turns you from a salesperson into a member of their community.

Online content works. By producing non-salesy content which responds to business pains, youll nurture
SME leads until they are ready to buy.

Marketing to SMEs Best Practice Guide B2B Marketing 2013

Order the full report today: 020 7438 1370 b2bmarketing.net/smes-bestpractice

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5. Leads, conversion and salesforce engagement

Use the sales funnel to evaluate your sales cycle and how it is changing. Its an eective way to monitor
what may not be necessarily working in the sales process so you can correct it immediately.

Make your customers feel special and valued. Listen to their needs, as opposed to selling what you think
they want.

Ensure your business and sales team know what the decision-making processes are for each segment you
work within. This will provide them with a good base on which to start their conversations with prospects.

Oer online discounts. This will encourage SMEs to visit your online store and hopefully lead to repeat custom.

Marketing to SMEs Best Practice Guide B2B Marketing 2013

Order the full report today: 020 7438 1370 b2bmarketing.net/smes-bestpractice

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6. Relationship building
Beware of logo slapping and sympathy sponsorship. Just because an opportunity is out there, it doesnt
neccessarily mean its worth taking. Select the best sponsorship that ts with the SME audience.

Cultivate meaningful social relationships by contributing to conversations. Digital channels can target by

industry segments and special interest groups or locations. Remember to avoid the hard sell this wont be wellreceived by SMEs.

Every touchpoint with an SME is a service opportunity. Make someone responsible for providing a timely and
useful and pleasant service to create positive feedback and repeat business.

Remember to focus on the needs of the individual buyer working for the SME. Catering for their interests and
concerns drives personal engagement expected from a B2C relationship, to that of a B2B.

Marketing to SMEs Best Practice Guide B2B Marketing 2013

Order the full report today: 020 7438 1370 b2bmarketing.net/smes-bestpractice

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Contents of the full report

Section 1: About the SME market SME denitions and the European/UK landscape Current outlook The marketing opportunity Culture management within SMEs Summary Section 2: Data and insight Understanding your existing customers Proling/modelling Measurement External research agency versus inhouse Summary Section 3: Brand and positioning The key dierence between branding and positioning Understanding your positioning How to create a unique position in a congested market Evolving your positioning to t your target audience Summary Section 4: Communications channels Traditional channels Barriers to communicating with SMEs Digital channels Summary Section 5: Leads, conversion and salesforce engagement Changes in the sales environment How are leads generated? Marketings involvement Decision-making process Sales cycle Building relationships Summary Section 6: Relationship building Local sponsorship Community engagement Customer service Targeted engagement Brand engagement Summary Section 7: Case studies Websites Business empathy Engage the individual Innovate and adapt Stand out Social media Understanding performance Transformation to social media by The Crocodile for Ellisons Summary
Marketing to SMEs Best Practice Guide B2B Marketing 2013

Order the full report today: 020 7438 1370 b2bmarketing.net/smes-bestpractice

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Buy this report

This report will help you: Prole existing customers and prospects, create a unique position in the market, build long-lasting relationships and evaluate successful SME marketing campaigns. You can buy this report now for just 99 + VAT, or subscribe as a B2B Marketing Premium Member to get unlimited access to all the reports. B2B Marketing produces the following types of reports:
 Benchmarking reports: Indepth analysis of key channels, helping marketers benchmark their activities against

industry standards. or techniques.

 Best practice guides: Practical guidance focused on key objectives or utilising particular marketing tools Business cases: Insight and data to help build a case towards a specic marketing investment. Technology evaluation guides: Indepth functional comparison data on a particular type of marketing technology.

For more information on B2B Marketing membership or to buy: Go to b2bmarketing.net/membership Email membership@b2bmarketing.net or call the membership team on 020 7438 1370
Marketing to SMEs Best Practice Guide B2B Marketing 2013

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