My apologies to all the people that have been trying to access the chart titled ‘different approaches to pricing’ linked from this post. It got lost somehow…it must have been me. Anyway, I’ve recreated it and it can be accessed from the original page: Different approaches to pricing.
I’ve been involved in a lot of conversations over the last couple of years about selling to SMEs in the UK. For many companies this looks like it should be a rich stream of business if only it was accessible. Just the number of SMEs make this an area worthy of consideration; there are well over 3 million by most calculations (paper from ACCA Global) and my working number is 4.5 million.
Specifically in the area of marketing services it would seem that most SMEs are not such hot prospects. The following data is from a white paper titled Advertising Among SMEs by Paul Hague and Matthew Powell.
Size of SME Average Promotional Budget
1 to 10 employees = £2,000
11 to 50 employees = £52,400
51 to 250 employees = £87,200
Overall average = £63,000
With such small budgets, it is hardly surprising that many SMEs can’t afford to engage the help of advertising agencies. It is also evident that a quick filter of prospects by employee count could well be valuable for vendors.
Perhaps the solution is to look towards ways of servicing SMEs online and with SaaS/cloud services? Aggregation and delivery via these methods could unlock better services and cost effective methods.
Quotes and quotations about business and marketing
I gather a lot of quotes relating to business and marketing on my main website. The link above takes you to the start of these.
Resignations have increased in the year to February 2010, despite growing fears over job security. Data collected from 43,312 individuals in 197 organisations also reveals that earning power has dropped dramatically in the past year, with ‘take home pay’ heavily influenced by where people work and what they do.
“It is clearly time for business to grow up. We can no longer afford to reward people with pay rise after pay rise especially as all the evidence suggests that money isn’t the main motivator anymore. Instead, employers must concentrate on building remuneration packages that incorporate earnings with development opportunities, offer flexible approaches to work and recognition of the need to better engage with staff.”
Read the rest of this article at the Chartered Management Institute site.
Surely it is time to take a better look at how we engage staff and to start using incentives and recognition tools to our advantage?
Are you focused on flogging stuff or building relationships? The difference is substantial but often misunderstood.
Doug Levy has written an interesting article titled 5 principles of breakthrough success in the “Relationship Era”. Levy talks about the history and evolution of business through the following phases:
Product Era: The focus is solely on transactions.
Consumer Era: The focus is still on transactions, but the idea of trust enters the dialogue as a way to persuade people to transact more.
Relationship Era: Trust between a brand and consumer is mutual. Trust and transactions are seen as distinct, and both are important.
I especially like his succinct principles for a relationship:
Principle 1: Clarify purpose
Principle 2: Commit to sustainable relationships
Principle 3: Connect with authenticity
Principle 4: Treat customers as partners
Principle 5: Engage
My thanks to Sarah Derry #sarahderry for telling me about this article. Read the complete article.
How on earth would you advertise your services if you were offering circumcisions? This is a synopsis of a Facebook conversation.
POST: Circumcision leaflets through your door as junk mail, welcome to London, E1.
POST: Are they advertising that they come at a snip of the price!
POST: 20% off if you buy before the end of June.
POST: Don’t even joke – there is one of those little clip-art stars in the corner with the caption “Bookings being taken for this summer”. Seriously, who decides to be circumcised because of a leaflet through your door?
POST: They have to advertise via leaflets as getting product placement on daytime TV is a little tricky.
POST: It would probably do very well after the money saving section on GMTV!
Well, it all made me wonder. What other obscure services do you think are difficult to market?
Image via Wikipedia
Man and boy Scottish & Newcastle marketer Jeremy Blood said, in answer to “What brand do you most admire and why?:
Champagne. A brilliant combination. A simple gimmick (bubbles and a popping cork) global appeal, and ownership of ‘celebratory drinks’. And on top of that huge margins and enormous barriers to entry.
Excellent choice and an excellent answer. See his other replies to questions at the Marketing Society website.
Jeremy Blood is the managing director of Heineken UK.
