The CANs and the CANNOTs On Maximising Marketing Expenditure of Small Businesses

Extracted from an article in Today's Manager Feb-Mar 2005

How Small Businesses Can Maximise their Marketing Expenditure

By Daryll Cahill and Louise Robinson

• Advertising provides information about the organisation, its business and involves different types of media: print based advertising, catalogues, flyers, inserts in publications or handouts, commercial on radio, Websites, billboards and posters. For small business, advertising can be used to generate and reinforce brand recognition and be as simple as placing advertisements in directories or guides read by clients
• Business Development is about understanding clients and targets in a systematic manner and devising strategies to meet these external needs. Business development is desigend to maintain clients and recurring revenues and understand generation of new revenues from existing clients or selected targets.
• Marketing can be defines as devising and utilising a range of tactics that will assist in selling services to specific target groups. Marketing tactics can be founded on the promotion of services within the context of provision of solutions to problems faced by organisations - these solutions may result in brochure ware, sales spiels, credentials statements, presentations or seminars.
• Communications can broadly be divded into two categories: externally focused (to the marketplace) or internal (to staff).
• External communication include media and public relations, production of brochures, capability statements, speeches and presentation, Internet or E-mail, and direct marketing activities to increase knowledge of your business name and reputation to clients and targets.
• Internal communication involves internal messaging and use of staff meetings, notice boards, intranet, E-mail, publications, voice-mails or posters. Internal communicationis imtant. It ensures that messages conveyed to the external marketplace are known and reinforced by all staff.
• Sales create introductionsto prospects with a view to turning them into clients.

Advertising can Assist market to become aware of your business and services Generates interest for inquiries Compliments external communication programme – especially media	Advertising cannot Build relationships with clients Compel people to contact the business Replace face-to-face or relationship building activities
Business Development can Provide understanding of existing clients and their needs Provide analysis and strategy of targets and how to reach them Focus resources to meet business needs for profitable long-term client relationships	Business Development cannot Replace need to act in order to retain or gain new clients Be effective without implementation by professional staff Work in isolation from other specialists
Marketing can Provide effective tools to reach key targets Measure and monitor targeting activities Ties external communication to business needs	Marketing cannot Be successful if delivered on ad hoc basis or not part of strategy Replace face-to-face relationships or total communication programme
External communication can Profile expertise in particular area Increase awareness of credentials Showcase intellectual capital Assist differentiate apart from competitors Enhance market reputation Lead to more publicity	External communication cannot Be effectively controlled Create sales Compel people to buy Limit competitor activity
Internal communication can Profile expertise throughout business of services Reinforces business values to staff Identifies relationships or prior work for client Educates staff on external messaging and brand	Internal communication cannot Generate sales or interest from marketplace Build relationships with clients Make staff sell work
Sales can Direct contact with clients and targets with view to building relationships that will yield sales Convert prospective contacts to clients Generates interest in solution Create introductions to key decision-makers	Sales cannot Deliver range of technical services to client Effectively sell without understanding of services Rely solely on profile of business