Member Article

SME’s Need to Invest in Strategic Marketing to Maximise Profits

A sector specific marketing agency is urging SME’s to ensure they allocate their marketing budgets effectively and only invest in strategic activities that will drive bottom line profit.

Scarab4, based in Northumberland provides marketing and PR activities to clients in the energy, waste, environmental services, sustainability and built environment sectors. They firmly believe that companies should only adopt a strategic and a specifically targeted approach to their marketing, in order to maximise profits and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.

Katherine Rowell, Account Manager at Scarab4 said: “The approach we take to any activity we carry out on behalf of our clients is always a strategic one. We only provide communications that we know will generate results. The team is open and honest with all of our clients – if we think something they want is not going to work – we will let them know.

“Our core value is developing and tactically delivering marketing activities that we know will add value for our clients. We don’t just put communications out there for the sake of it. Understanding how important a marketing budget is to a company – and sometimes it can be limited – we ensure our clients see a significant return on their investment.”

Strategic marketing and business growth go hand in hand. As Scarab4 points out and according to RIBA Insight, during the recession, often the first thing to be cut during times of difficulties is the marketing budget. It is understandable why businesses would tighten their purse strings, however continuous marketing – done properly – is only going to create awareness and sustain interest leading to maintaining and increasing sales. Interestingly it was those companies that maintained their marketing spend, and even increased it during the recession, that survived the recession and emerged in a stronger position once it had ended.

Marketing activities will only ever deliver results if they are delivered at the right time, with the correct message through the most appropriate channels, reaching and influencing the desired target audience. Understanding that every client is unique, Scarab4 takes its time to get under the skin of clients, establishing who they are, what makes them different and what they want to achieve. Through gaining this deep insight it is able to devise a clearly articulated strategy reflective of the brand and which appeals to the right people.

Katherine added: “Prior research, understanding markets and how to position a brand through the correct channels is key to driving results. We understand how to relate to different target markets and which approach resonates with certain audiences. This is why we have managed to retain our clients for so long, with many of our clients remaining with us for up to 3 years - well above the industry average of 18 months – and because they know what we are doing delivers results.”

Scarab4 is a full service marketing and PR agency offering a vast array of services from marketing strategy and research pieces, design and branding right through to public relations. They provide their services to companies in the energy, waste, environmental services, sustainability and built environment sectors boasting an array of clients from start-ups to FTSE 100 companies located throughout the UK and even as far afield as Canada.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Scarab4 .