Operating a small
or medium sized firm is not an easy task.
Being small doesn’t mean that the challenges they face are small too!
There is almost no difference between the large and small scale industries on
account of their process and work. Heavy industries have to deal with
production, maintenance, marketing and sales. The same also applies to the
SME’s.
Recent research by Forrester Consulting, commissioned by
Act-On Software asked SME marketing decision makers what they felt were their
biggest challenges.
Biggest marketing challenges for SME marketing decision makers:
The list of challenges
for SME’s in the manufacturing sector is no short. While the problems related
to manufacturing last till eternity, sales and marketing of their products also
adds up to their woes. Sales and marketing have never been a cakewalk for them
and many firms often struggle in this area of business.
Here are some
reasons for SME’s struggle in sales and marketing
1) Finding new clients and increasing sales from
existing customers:
Sales and
Marketing are always co-related to each other. Both the departments rely on
each other for working of the firm and one department can never be said
successful if the other isn’t. For an SME, finding new client is tough or it
can be said that their reach to the audiences is restricted. The budget allotted
to the marketing department can be a factor, and low budget for marketing means
less revenue from sales. SME’s often get stuck between these two aspects. Most of the SME’s already have strong bonding's with
existing customers but the major task for them is to maintain visibility with
key stakeholders and continue to build credibility whilst keeping an ear to the
ground for any new order opportunities. Personal networking is a proven
technique here but SME’s may be limited in terms of the number of contacts they
can effectively network with.
Solution Buggy here proves to be a golden
opportunity for these SME’s to expand their reach and contact a large list of
marketing experts who can build the network and take businesses to another
level.
2) Greater Conversion Ratio:
It has been mostly seen
that even if you are able to generate leads the ratio of conversion is meager or almost nil. With the demand generation tactics, an SME could sift through
the list of the leads ‘about to turn hot’. It can be addressed if you
make sure that the leads generated are of useful quality right from the
outset. Don’t stress on the number of leads instead work towards the
quality of leads. Track the information regarding their buying pattern and
subsequent behavior. Lead scoring plays a role as can marketing automation in
sophisticated environments.
3) Finding enough time for marketing activities
As said,
there is almost no difference between small and big industries in term of the
process and procedures. Owing to these, much less time is spared for the
activities of sales and marketing. The time is never enough! The modern sales
and marketing managers need to do planning before execution and then also
review it. Planning and reviewing is an important aspect for any product or
service sales and marketing. Carrying these activities consumes time and money,
which is then cornered and hence the struggle. SME’s should have proper management
of time for planning, which eliminates the risk of any letdown by a great
extent.
Smart
Insights
4) Experience and Knowledge
The
degrees that people have, is only enough to show the world how far or what
you’ve studied and not how good your work is. For that, you need to have some
practical knowledge or experience in the field. Same applies to the SME’s in
sales and marketing. Improper or half knowledge can be very much misleading and
it is better to have a support system or experienced guidance. For this, big
firms employ advisors or experts for different departments to keep their work
in check. It is not always possible for SME’s to employ advisors owing to lack
of time, money and most importantly the struggle to find one.
Solution
Buggy solves this problem of the SME’s too. It is a platform where the SME’s
can find advisors according to their suitable needs and vice-versa, which is a
win-win situation for all.
SME Tool kit
5) Gaining ground in the market
It is
repeatedly seen that the marketers in SME’s follow the same old guidelines that
every other firms follow. For a small enterprise where returns need to be
immediate and quantifiable, direct response marketing is the best approach.
Most of the firms battle for gaining a share in the market by increasing their brand
value and market image. SME’s shouldn’t be cutting time and money for that,
instead they should look upon direct marketing and sales which will
automatically gain them the market ground which they would deserve. This is why
having an experienced personnel or an advisor is very important for the SME’s.
There may be many
more big or small problems for SME’s in sales and marketing which may come
along on their path. Solution Buggy can be said as the best tool for these
SME’s to tackle their problems and help them grow. After all, the intention
isn’t to be small forever!
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