Kenyon Blunt
Do you ever get tired of being David and having to fight Goliath? Or, do you feel your marketing company and its competitors are like boats? The big boys move like cruise ships—they withstand high waves but are not very maneuverable. And your company is more like a speedboat that can turn quickly and avoid danger.
This post is for all of us little guys. With the changes taking place in marketing today, there’s no better time to be small and agile. In fact, small marketers are “cool” again, because nimbleness is the number one skill to overcome more marketing channels, new technologies, a changing consumer, expanding markets and all of the other forces shaping the world of Marketing 2.0.
In short: Acting like a small business is the latest killer app.
So here are 10 reasons why I’ve never backed down from going head-to-head with my larger and more resource-laden competitors:
- Speed to Market: Most small marketers are forced by their clients to move quickly. They hire us precisely because we can move heaven and earth to meet their deadlines. In today’s world of cutthroat competition, those who move quickly, win.
- Lower Costs: We are inherently more efficient. Most small marketers begin by bootstrapping precious resources. No fat can be tolerated. As a result, we know how to control costs and can pass those savings on to our clients.
- Nimble and Flexible: Clients want solutions that solve their problems. They don’t want pre-packaged services that solve only some of their issues. Small companies adapt on the fly and give the client what he or she wants.
- Skill with Social Media – You may have heard some case studies on how large brands are using social media, but I contend that the real experts are those small businesses who’ve incorporated social media into their marketing mix because they have to (no budget available for anything else). Social marketing platforms afford the same opportunities to both big brands and smaller businesses alike. Us small guys are taking the time to learn who our community is and delivering the right messages at the right time through the best platforms.
- The “A” Team: Most marketers who’ve started their own companies are experts and that’s why they’ve been successful on their own. In many cases, the agency principal and her team is more experienced than the team assembled by bigger competitors (often assembled just to make the pitch and many times unfamiliar with their teammates prior to the call).
- Customized Services: Large competitors try to fit clients into pre-packaged solutions while the small guys can create products and services that address highly customized requests at a moment’s notice.
- Passion: Marketing is always better when it connects with the passions of our clients and customers. And who is more passionate than a small marketer whose entire career rests on his or her successes and failures?
- Personal Attention: We provide more personal service to our clients and, in turn, they trust us more. If your clients say “I’ve been doing business with XYZ company for ___ years,” then you know you’ve got a leg up on the marketing giants who are less likely to care.
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Focus: Small marketers have to compete by finding a niche. The specialization that comes from such a tight focus often means that smaller companies are more skilled than their rivals who have to be generalists. - Marketing Technology: This used to be a disadvantage for small marketers, but with the advent of SaaS (Software as a Service), technology is cheaper and the playing field is becoming more level. Our ability to rapidly implement new technologies is now an advantage.
The only drawback that I see is that if we’re really good at doing all the above, then someday we won’t be small any more.
About the Author:
Kenyon Blunt is the CEO at SIGMA Marketing Group. Connect with Kenyon on or follow him on .
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