Tips | 9 ways small companies can compete with enterprise marketing

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Can small companies benefit from big enterprise marketing tactics? Can your company simply behave bigger?

For Owner Managed Businesses, small campanies and SMEs competing with larger companies invloves a change in outlook. The core success factor lies in behaving a like a market leader with a service pledge.

Small companies, big brands, it's more company culture than marketing budgets

Large companies squeezed by innovative offerings from smaller rivals are now adopting their business models in search of higher growth. The popularity of gin from little distilleries provides a case in point.

There is also a lot of discussion that suggests big companies should behave like start-ups in order to remain close to consumers and nimble.

Any small company can challenge their larger competitors

What business sector are you in: manufacturing, retail, technology, leisure, professional services, healthcare, third sector? Regardless of sector, adopting the best marketing and sales practices of successful companies will help you.

Success comes from a shift in outlook and a redirection of efforts rather a surge in budgets.

Did today’s corporate giants start out planning or knowing they were going to become super successful?

The trouble with marketing text books is that they give you an historical view of successful growth tactics. They don’t reveal the errors, cul de sacs, failed campaigns, lost sales and frustrations endured when trying to create a successful marketing and sales formula.

Being price and budget focused stymies leadership marketing

You probably want to know what you can do right now to enjoy some of the success of enterprise sales and marketing.

Without meaning to be rude, most smaller and mid-market companies think like small companies in terms of pricing and budgets. The default positions are generally, let's sell on price and what can we spend rather than what should we budget for to meet our sales and growth objectives? Similarly with staff, what can we afford, rather than what should we spend or what incentives can we offer to attract and nurture good staff.

There are also some other activities that feel unnatural to smaller companies, among them are sponsorship and exhibitions. The fact is that you just have to think a bit smarter.

Smaller companies with short decision making processes can go left field

The fantastic thing for small companies is that the decision making process is generally much shorter so SMEs can outmanoeuvre the corporate giants, be quicker off the mark and take more calculated risks.

Many companies would love to have THE sign in Times Square, or the triple decker stand at the mega exhibition, or sponsor the end of show gala dinner. But you can work towards that by adopting the behaviours if not the scale of activity.

One notable example of recent success was our sponsorship on a client’s behalf of the beer and beer mats at a large exhibition. Just about everyone of their preferred technology audience saw our customer’s name, in the most welcome of contexts. We suspect our sales enquiries outnumbered those of the companies who sponsored the show bags, speakers and dinners.

Sometimes it’s not about budgets but about quick thinking, effective design and skilled deployment.

Create a company environment that enables you to hire 'A' Grade people

When it comes to people, you have to employ ‘A’ grade people, potentially people who can do a better job than you, so that you can work, as Gerber suggests, on strategy and ON the business, not IN the business.

Do talented people cost more? Sometimes. But it’s a salient fact that Richard Branson doesn’t always pay the highest salaries, for example at Virgin Atlantic. However, he creates a particular environment in which people want to work and empowers his staff. So there are other ways to incentivise people to work for your company if you think a little creatively.

We’ve introduced comparable workplace initiatives for Allround Creative customers, from case study incentives to staff lounge enhancements and collaboration strategies.

Your staff are your ambassadors, whether you like it or not! Their productivity is critical to success. So liberating their talent can only be a positive thing. (If you’ve made a hiring mistake, that’s another matter that has to be dealt with in a positive manner.)

Small companies should behave like a brand and not like a product

Richard Branson is a good example of someone who from the outset has behaved like a brand and not like a product. His companies have usually sided with the public, taken an anti-big business stance, have included an element of fun and are associated with value for money.

Not enough small companies think about the impression they create in the market, which ultimately underpins sales success, and service consistency, which translates into customer retention and repeat orders.

It’s important to stand for something and communicate it to your prospects, whether it’s premium performance, fabulous mid-market reliability, or bucket shop best prices.

You still have to be found by your prospects and have the right messages to win orders and customer loyalty by being demonstrably good in your class.

Sales and Marketing Must Dos and Don’ts for OMBs, small businesses and SMEs:

Don’t just give your sales guys a phone and desk and then expect sales miracles
Do think about what your company should look and sound like
Do make sure your company sales message is learned by all staff and delivered consistently from board level to receptionist
Do motivate your staff, and if you can’t do it yourself, find someone who can
Do investigate what marketing will work for you, from guerrilla marketing to monthly turn-the-handle promotional marketing
Don’t settle for average
Do try to be remarkable (so people remark on the good things about your company)

Sometimes a change in outlook requires some bravery, but it's easier to accomplish if you work with someone who has travelled the journey before and can guide you along the way.