Small business getting smarter with marketing

The recent MYOB Business Monitor survey uncovered a potentially disturbing fact about Australian small business activity throughout 2009. 20% of them decreased spending on the one area that could bring them a return on their investment and ensure that they could bounce back from the GFC: Marketing

“There was a heap of studies documented – here and overseas – from the previous recession warning small business not to abandon their marketing activity, so my hope is that those who decreased their spending didn’t actually decrease their marketing activity”, said Bambi Gordon, who trains and mentors small business owners in how to market their business, “But perhaps just got cleverer about how to go about it”.

Where 20% of businesses decreased their marketing spend, and 66% of businesses retained it, 14% increased their spend to counter-balance the impact of the shrinking market place. Interestingly a greater number of businesses ( 21% ) increased the variety of products and services that they offered, for the second consecutive year.

“It obviously depends on the business, but in general adding on more products and services – if they are not strategic to the core business – can weaken your position in the market. If you are trying to be all things to your customers, what do you actually stand for, in their mind? In particular you are susceptible to competitors who are more targeted than you” said Bambi.

The good news is that those businesses who maintained, increased or re-directed their marketing activity could have had an easier job cutting through.

“Just because they decreased their spend didn’t mean that they all did less marketing” says Rene Le Merle of INeedHits. “2009 saw many businesses questioning the effectiveness of traditional advertising like the Yellow Pages. Budgets moved across to channels that were showing stronger, measurable returns such as Google advertising, SEO and email marketing”

“Last year’s financial challenges forced people to really analyse where they were investing their marketing dollars. Small business in general is working smarter”, said LeMerle

Sarah Mitchell of Global Copywriting also saw an increase in the number of clients who have embraced new marketing methods. “Recent research from the Custom Content Council indicates U.S companies spent about $15 billion for online content in 2009. I’m not surprised because nearly all of my business relates in some way to an online marketing strategy. This is a significant change and it’s being driven by the consumer.”

“For those who did go to ground they now have to throw themselves back into the marketplace ensuring that potential clients are aware of them – clawing back brand recognition and trying to reignite their data-bases. But hopefully most of them got more creativity and financially astute about the marketing that they did do and despite spending less where still out there “, said Gordon.

“Whether we are in a recession or in not, the small business owner has to know where to put the marketing funds. For far too many of them it is guess work but they just can’t afford to waste any of their precious resources trying out an ad that may not work”, said Gordon “They have to have a strategy to follow – and one that is built on realistic, achievable and sustainable budgets”.

Bambi Gordon will be joined by locally based marketing professionals in a one day workshop to teach Small Business Owners how to go about marketing their own business. The workshop is being held in Perth on June 15, and in Sydney in September. Registration is available at www.thewoo.com.au or 1300 55 32 35

Visit us at: www.thewoo.com.au

Survey reference: MYOB Business Monitor, April 2010 (http://myob.com.au/...)

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