As part of our monthly content series, The Colour Of Marketing, we spend quality time listening to the thoughts and insights of the people who know what’s what when it comes to the world of SME marketing. In this edition, we talk with Roger Jackson from SenseCheck about the power of getting marketing feedback from outside your bubble.
Hi Roger, thanks for taking time to speak with us. Firstly, how did you get involved in the world of small business/SME marketing
I always had a vague career plan to start a business one day, but that was rather accelerated when I was “fired” from my corporate job. Well, it was called “by mutual agreement,” but it gave me a buffer of cash to start my first consulting firm. From there, I launched various businesses, notably moving to Australia, before hitting on the Shopper Intelligence idea. I have been working on that system for the last 20 years, selling data to CPG companies and supermarket chains around the world.
What are the unique challenges SMEs face in marketing compared to larger companies?
Big brands have many inherent advantages. Being “well known” is a massive plank of how marketing actually works. Consumers buy the things they already know about to save mental time and effort. B2B buyers buy what others buy to feel safe. The brain itself conspires to stop us from noticing new things. In addition to that, the inevitable lack of resources, small budgets, few experienced people, difficulties in doing good market research, the inability to afford top agencies, and the challenges mount up. The final problem is that most SMEs are a hothouse where a small number of people live in a bubble of passion and belief, so they can be poorly placed to see things as the outside world does – and that harms marketing efforts.
What are some common mistakes SMEs make in their marketing efforts?
Allied to the point about being in your bubble, the main issue is talking too much about themselves and not enough about the customer. Given all the barriers to anyone accepting a new idea, your message has to work incredibly hard to punch in, and the only way in is to connect to your prospect’s world quickly and compellingly. The temptation is to imagine that your customers will automatically read your material and get interested in the marvellous things you are doing. They won’t. They don’t yet have any reason to. In B2B, SMEs are often also fearful of getting it wrong and being seen as flaky. Thus, their marketing ends up being horribly dull, which doubles down on a prospect’s lack of interest in reading about you!
How can limited budgets impact the marketing decisions of SMEs, and what strategies can help maximise results?
Low budgets mean SMEs can’t do marketing as the big guys do, ie long-term brand building using multiple media tools. Instead, an SME has to be like a sniper compared to a shotgun. A few things done well, precisely targeted to exactly the right people (at the right time). Good salespeople always knew to do that, to put effort where the best results were likely, and this applies to all other elements of marketing. Indeed, many in B2B are better off with a good salesperson and no marketing in the short term (it’s how we started). This is about defining a very tight target market and knowing as much as you can about them so you can get to them with efficiency and spot-on messaging.
In today’s online world, I think the secret sauce for small businesses is around content – producing genuinely helpful material that prospects love (and the Google algorithm appreciates). Answer their questions and share your expertise to help them (before you sell to them!) Second the ability to take creative risks and so brave things that stand out, buying more bang for your buck. The huge risk is that none of your marketing is noticed, so your money is wasted.
How can an external perspective help identify blind spots in an SME’s marketing approach?
The crucial thing is to be aware that you are in a bad position to judge any marketing work. If you are interested in creating the material, then you already know what you are actually saying. And guess what, you see that in it. You can’t help it. The only way to assess if your marketing is saying what you hope is to ask a third party. I lose count of how many ads I see on LinkedIn that don’t even say what their product is. That’s blindingly obvious to the advertiser, so they don’t notice its absence. You need a feedback tool. Market research may be available, but that can be tricky. We assert that any length of arms and independent and objective eyes can help. And by the way, this isn’t the same as showing it around the office (they are in the same bubble) or asking your friends (your mum). Most will just want to be nice to you.
What are the benefits of having an external expert review an SME’s marketing idea or strategy?
An external perspective will spot gaps (things you missed) and tell you if your material “works” well. That helps you refine it to get it to work better. But the reviewers might also ask questions and point out things that really make you think about your strategy. Just one suggestion could really shift the dial.
What should SMEs look for when selecting an expert to provide a second opinion on their marketing strategy?
You must find someone who will be truly objective and honest. That’s not easy. Agencies and paid consultants will want to maintain the relationship and retain you as a client. You must be sure that they place the truth over self-interest. Once someone has been involved with you for a while, of course, they “go native” too and hop into the same bubble as you. You really need to find fresh eyes on a regular basis.
How does SenseCheck work?
We have a huge panel of time-served marketers who are willing to look at any piece of marketing and give their thoughts. It’s like a confidential “phone a friend” for small business marketers. They have been there and got the T-shirt, and they will take a quick look and give you their immediate gut feel response. In effect, it acts as a proxy for your prospects when they see the same material. You get five independent points of view compiled into a simple report. Then, it’s up to you what feedback to act on. They aren’t there to make life hard or to slate you – it’s always helpful and constructive. The goal is to make you a hero.
How do you see the landscape of SME marketing evolving in the next few years?
AI will help us all generate more stuff at a lower cost. Maybe even better stuff. But by definition, more stuff in the world will make the competitive challenge even harder.
What role will companies like SenseCheck play in helping SMEs navigate future marketing challenges?
We hope that getting validation will become habitual and a necessary step in any marketing process. This will save a lot of wasted money and unnecessary stress and worry.
Are there any emerging trends in SME marketing that highlight the need for fresh perspectives?
AI promises much for marketers, but AI is just aggregating learning from material already out there. It can’t predict the effectiveness of what it generates. Moreover, it’s only responding to the prompt you gave it – which itself might not be exactly right. That step of validation is still crucial.
Thanks for speaking with us, Roger.
Next month, we will be speaking with author and LinkedIn personal branding expert Damian Corbet about how business leaders can better use their personal brand on LinkedIn to humanise the face of their business.