Marketing has never been more important for businesses. With fewer than 1% of all British businesses registered in the last eight years having managed to scale up, what is preventing so many businesses from reaching their full potential? It’s all about having the laser focus on your goals and how to achieve them. You’ll (hopefully) have an operational plan to improve and develop the internal elements – but do you have an effective marketing strategy to bring the right customers to your door?
If you run a business, there’s a fair chance these words have crossed your mind at some point:
“Do I need to invest in marketing? After all, we’ve done pretty well so far.”
I get it. When you’ve worked hard to build a company, establish a reputation, and land those clients, surely it’s that sheer willpower and effort that counts?
As someone who has built up my own business, I’m inclined to agree. But that effort can only take you so far. To really establish your brand on a highler level, and bring in new business from the right customers – you need a sharp strategy, laser focus, time to excute the plan properly and the skills and experience to get it right. And, more oftne than not, that means you need to engage a professional marketing team.
The right marketing team will be able to create a smart and focussed marketing strategy that will bridge the gap from your current successes to the glorious future that you’re aiming for.
Marketing is a waste of money
Now, it’s no secret that large companies have the financial clout to pump huge amounts of money into an in-house marketing department that devotes extensive amounts of time and resources to securing newspaper column inches, Google ads and other eye catching product placements. And in fairness, there is probably a fair amount of wasted money and effort – because in house teams don’t seem to be held as accountable as agencies – but that’s ok, they have plenty of money, right?
Meanwhile, most smaller or medium sized firms can’t afford this kind of investment. A recent report by Marketing Week found the average annual SME marketing spend was £24k. In another report, energy brand Opus found that in a survey of 500 SMEs, 40% said a lack of budget was the biggest barrier to them conducting more marketing and PR, with lack of expertise and time also being significant factors.
And the reality is, business owners who are in the thick of ensuring their businesses can survive on a day to day basis are usually time poor. And while you’re busy swapping your sales call hat for your project managing hat, it’s easy to let your marketing hat gather dust in the corner.
Yet having a team of marketing experts onboard, pulling together a thorough and measurable plan for moving your business forward, reaching new audiences and delighting potential clients, is the best route to sustained growth and success.
Marketing Week’s research agrees with me on this: According to their findings, for every £1 a UK SME invests in marketing, they will see an £8 ROI. There aren’t many better investment opportunities than that.
Want to bring your marketing – and business – to the next level? Get in touch to talk through your individual requirements.