Earning the SME Dialogue

8/14/2019 Earning the SME Dialogue

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OMOBONO LTD, THE WAREHOUSE, 33 BRIDGE STREET, CAMBRIDGE CB2 1UW, UK

T +44 (0)1223 307000 | F +44 (0)1223 365167

[email protected] | www.omobono.co.uk

Francesca Brosan, Chairman,Omobono Limited.

March 2010

Earning the SME

dialogue

How analysing SME relationships can

improve the ways in which government and

business communicate to SMEs



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Introduction

A Business Relationship is “a

dynamic link between at least

two parties operating within a

given industry and expecting

mutual benefits from each

other... the quality and nature of

the relationship depends on the

quality of the interaction

process.” (Zineldin, 1995)1

In summer 2009, Omobono

partnered with the University of

Cambridge‟s Judge Business

School to investigate thetheories surrounding Enterprise

Relationships and Enterprise

Relationship Management

(ERM): the ways in which

organisations in the commercial

and public sectors interact with

their customers, partners and

staff. The Judge BusinessSchool investigated how

Enterprise Relationships are

used to achieve organisational

goals, to deliver to customers

and create mutual value; and

how that is measured.

The research focused on large,

complex organisations whose

business relies on long term

relationship building and

decision-making.

What was also revealed was the

value of ERM as a mapping

process which can improve the

way in which big companies and

government departments

communicate with SMEs – the

backbone of British Industry.

This is particularly pertinent in

the current environment which

demands that businesses move

away from traditional mass

market driven approaches and

become more savvy about

marketing to SMEs.

This white paper explores how

business and the public sector

can communicate more

effectively with SMEs to produce

the nirvana of business

relationships – a win-win

situation.

Analysing SME relationships can improve the

ways in which government and business

communicate with them



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Reaching SMEs

SMEs are the backbone of

British industry, accounting for

99% of all private sector firms,

50% of turnover and 59% of

private sector employment

(Source: BIS, Oct 09)2 making

them a hugely important target

for both government and

commercial organisations.

Some SMEs are more equal

than others.

1. The first problem in

understanding SMEs is that they

are not a homogenous group –

the category officially coversbusinesses up to 250 people but

there is an obvious, and huge,

difference between a well

established business at the top

end of the spectrum and a self

employed carpenter, or PR

consultant who has just set up

on his own.

2. The second problem is their

sheer diversity. SME

businesses cover every sector

of UK industry, from

construction to creative services

and within each of these

categories will also be a wide

spread of activities. TheCreative Industries sector for

example covers businesses as

diverse as art galleries,

architecture practices and

advertising agencies (and that‟s

just the A‟s).

You can talk, but will they

listen?

3. The third problem (as if you

needed any more) is that SMEs

are notoriously hard to reach.

At the heart of every SME is the

proprietor or director

themselves. Hard pressed,

facing a tough market, their

focus is on trying to do the best

for their business and their

people.

No matter how much a

communications plan may make

sense to commercial

organisations or governmentdepartments, you have to face

the fact that the people on the

receiving end of the messages

have almost no time to consider

non-essential information.

SME diversity and

commercial pressures

make them a difficultaudience to reach.



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Successful SME communication

demands a particular blend ofskills. Unless you are offering

them an opportunity to do

business, getting their attention

relies on the right combination of

factual (no frills, no fripperies)

and emotional. The more

engaging (but not time-wasting)

it is, the more likely they are torespond.

Of course they will read and

ingest the mainstream

consumer media, and there is

plenty of business media which

also reaches them.

But because of the diversity of

type, sector and stage of

development many of the

broadcast messages are highly

wasteful unless they are literally

applicable to all.

Gaining ‘Permission to Speak’

To truly engage with SMEs, as

with any audience, it is of course

essential to ensure that the

message is highly pertinent.

But there is an alternative way

to think about communicatingwith SMEs however, which is to

look for those to whom they

have already given „permission

to speak‟ and use these

channels – from trade

associations to special interest

groups - to deliver your

message.

Response levels are more likely

to increase for the simple

reason that they are more likely

to look or listen to the message

if it comes via someone they

already interact with and are

more likely to trust.

Identifying these audiences,

and their role as future

‘carriers’ is therefore vital.

Successful

engagement with

SMEs is more likely tocome via those with

existing ‘permission

to speak’.



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Peter Haigh, former B2B

Marketing Director of E.ON,referred to this some years ago

as „the Fish Friers Strategy‟. To

reach fish & chip shops across

the country it makes sense to

find out the main associations

that they would belong to or the

main trade publications they

would subscribe to.

Subsequently, you work with the

“Fish Friers Association” to

provide their members with

benefits which are not available

to those outside the group – an

advantageous energy tariff, for

example.

This gives the SME a direct

benefit (cheaper energy), the

Association a benefit (members

get perks, which encourages

people to join or to maintain

their membership) and the

corporate gets the advantage of

reaching a highly relevant target

group via one single channel –

despite the fact that they might

be spread across the UK from

Scunthorpe to Brighton.

This approach is as relevant for

government departments taskedwith communicating with SMEs

about a range of issues, as it is

for commercial organisations,

from banks to professional

advisors and energy companies.

Identifying the

stakeholder channels

and their potential role

as future carriers is an

essential part of

communicating with

SMEs.



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In partnership with the Judge

Business School, Omobonohas developed a specific

approach to mapping the

relationships held by business.

Our Enterprise Relationship

Mapping process allows

companies to analyse SME

relationships and the roles they

have in reaching SME

management (see Fig.1)

Mapping these connections also

enables companies and publicsector marketers to evaluate the

strengths and weaknesses of

the communications links, both

direct and indirect; identifying

how best to use them.

Digital and social media

connections can also be

mapped, although SMEs and

their associations are

capitalising on the opportunity to

connect in this way much slower

than corporate brands, as a

recent survey from Sage UK3

revealed.FIG. 1

Relationship Mapping

http://www.sage.co.uk/PDF/ACT2010_Social_Media_Whitepaper.pdf






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Reviewing the business

relationships which SMEsmanage reveals both the

influencing factors upon them

and the channels via which they

might be reached. For example,

those with significant work

forces will need HR advice, and

may well connect with

Government HR resources ortrade associations.

Those who don‟t buy directly

may be reachable via their

suppliers; distributors of office

supplies, food service or

electronic components.

Are they a service business with

a strong trade press or are their

services intermediated via a

brokerage service such as an

online portal or agency?

What is their relationship with

Government? Do they operate

in a business in which theoriginal thinking is driven by

academe?

The ERM approach maps points

of interest and groupings notnecessarily obvious when

looking at a business from the

outside.

At the heart of this analysis is

the belief that they will be more

open to messages which come

via those to whom they have

given permission to speak and

in the places that they naturally

gather and show an interest in.

Understanding SME

influencers – the ERM

exercise.



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Understanding the

stakeholder agenda

is a core elementin communicating

effectively with SMEs.

One essential implication of this

is the importance of gaining thebuy-in of the influencer or

intermediary. These people are

the stakeholders from the wider

world of business and

government, who communicate

with SMEs as they set up, grow

and flourish – in order to help

them while finding benefit fromthe process themselves.

To successfully use those

stakeholders as a

communication channel means

developing mutual benefit for all

parties. There must be a benefit

of carrying your message to the

stakeholder as well as a

potential benefit of receiving it

for the SME themselves.

But your agendas may conflict –

and who owns the relationshipscan become a thorny problem.

Stakeholder communication

(See Fig. 2) therefore becomes

an important element of the

Relationship Mapping process.

FIG. 2



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Top Ten Tips – a recap 1. Communicating with SMEs is

actually likely to be a two stage

process- one direct and one via

stakeholders.

2. Identify the key segments

you wish to attract and prioritise

them.

3. Map their key relationships

and the stakeholders who

influence them.

4. Identify the stakeholder’s

own agenda and look for ways

to align yours with theirs.

5. Communicate with

stakeholders as actively as you

communicate with SMEs.

6. Create valuable content

which provides a service to both

SME and stakeholder.

7. Invest in engaging work

which reflects positively on your

brand and the stakeholder.

8. Promote it so people know

it‟s there.

9. Identify success. Traffic,

uptake or referrals? Clicks or

behaviour?

10. Remember that content is

only as good as the last

update, which has implications

on how it is managed.



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Conclusion

Traditional thinking would have

you believe that reaching SMEsis volume-driven activity, similar

to consumer communications

which rely on sending out vast

numbers of communications in

the hope of a low level return.

But the current environment

suggests that businesses and

government need to become

more savvy about marketing to

SMEs to ensure that their

budget is spend on building

ongoing value for audience and

stakeholder alike, rather than a

one way flag waving exercise.

Viewed in this light,

communicating with SMEs

should become part of a service

– a service which produces

mutual advantage for all players,

not just for the biggest.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

1. Zineldin, M. (1995) “Bank-company

interactions and relationships: some

empirical evidence”, International

Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 13

No. 2, pp. 30-40.

2. http://www.berr.gov.uk/index.html

3. The Sage Group plc, Sage (UK)

“Connecting With Your Customers:

a guide to social media”,

http://www.sage.co.uk/PDF/ACT201

0_Social_Media_Whitepaper.pdf

4. Morgan, R.M. and Hunt, D.H. (1994)

“The Commitment-Trust Theory of

Relationship Marketing”, Journal of

Marketing, Vol.58 (July 1994), 20-

38.

http://www.berr.gov.uk/index.html





http://www.berr.gov.uk/index.html



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Relationships drive

your business.

We drive your relationships.

ERM® helps world class

organisations drive value from their

business relationships by

examining the ways they interact

with their customers, partners and

staff; and how that is measured to

help achieve organisational goals,

deliver to customers and create

mutual value. We look largely at the

contribution online technologies can

play, and how companies can

maximise value from the

infrastructure put in place over the

past 5 – 10 years. By exploring

alternative approaches to improving

B2B marketing effectiveness, ERM enables us to think about marketing

differently, to put it back to its

original place; where marketing has

a meaning and purpose beyond

communication and becomes a

business essential, not a business

expense.

Omobono targets SME businesses

for clients including regional and

sub-regional development

agencies, government departments

and commercial.

Francesca Brosan is Chairman and Founder of Omobono Limited,

the digital communications services

company. A former Board Director

of WCRS, her career has spanned

consumer advertising, PR, live

events and digital. She now

focuses on B2B strategy for the

agenc y’ s corporate and public

sector clients. Francesca is the

author of 3 IPA Advertising

Effectiveness Awards and is a

regular speaker and contributor

to marketing forums.

uk.linkedin.com/in/francescabrosan

Documents

Earning the SME Dialogue