Marketing should be priority for SMEs

NDN Staffer

WINDHOEK, Apr. 4 – Budding entrepreneurs are often consumed with operational costs to run their Small/Medium Enterprise (SMEs), accounting for salaries, materials and rent amongst others, but they seem to side-line marketing.

However, marketing is essential for every SME, no matter how big or small it is. These were the sentiments that were shared by Standard Bank’s Marketing Manager Sindano Nekundi recently.

The goal of every business person is to make a profit and reinvest that profit into growing the business further and marketing is essential to making sure that people know about your products and services. However, marketing can often be a costly exercise, especially when you are just starting out your business and all the funds are going to pay for operational costs and salaries.

“The goal of marketing is to connect your business’ value to the right customer base…there must be a viable market for your product or service and you must know how to promote it to your core customer base. It’s a simple concept but it can take on a million different shades,” he explained.

He advised that the best way to go about it is devising a marketing plan and marketing strategy. A marketing plan clearly outlines how you will reach your ideal customers by effectively implementing your marketing strategy. But a good marketing strategy should be drawn from market research and focus on the right product/service in order to achieve the maximum profit potential and sustain the business.

Nekundi pointed out that there are various ways to in which one can market their business in a cost effective ways. These can be through branding the company vehicle, printing brochures, handing out free samples of your products or doing interviews on radio/television and newspapers.

One should also not overlook what is readily available at their fingertips. Platforms such as marketing on social media, via email, website marketing as well as search engine optimization tools which serve as relatively cheap options to enhance your company’s presence in the market.

“Learn to ask for referrals; learn the most likely places to find clients and go to those places; learn how to create a powerful sales presentation that persuades customers to buy; learn what the worst sales blunders are and avoid them. Remember that when you run a small business, you are your business,” he concluded.