Can small businesses compete with the big boys by self-marketing?

Not all small or medium-sized firms have access to giant marketing agency resources such as Isobar – with its payroll of over 3,000 staff and a total of 53 offices in 36 markets worldwide.

Many have no financial option but to market themselves – on a shoestring.

But, as marketing agencies become global conglomerates in their own right, can small businesses compete by selling themselves on a restricted budget any longer?

A new white paper outlines a revolutionary approach to self-marketing which suggests they can – with a multichannel approach.

London School of Marketing’s Marketing on a Micro Budget report shows just what is doable on a restricted budget.

It describes the tricks which metamorphose the restriction of a marketing micro budget into an advantageous opportunity.

The report comes as the world’s media outlook has grown to encompass an increasingly vast raft of different platforms and markets.

The white paper addresses the issues faced by small to medium sized companies which are forced into spreading their already restricted marketing budgets over a burgeoning marketing landscape.

Nowadays, there are a record number of places for businesses to invest their marketing spend.

But Anton Dominique, COO/CFO of London School of Marketing, said: “Unfortunately, the vast majority are forced into finding their own way through the confusing, and often expensive, media labyrinth.”

This inspired the school’s decision to commission the white paper to educate firms how to use innovative devices to make the most of a challenging situation.

The paper, which looks at how firms can leverage their creativity to extend their reach, highlights 14 different micro budget marketing techniques

Its author, Gopal Kutwaroo, employing examples to explain them, demonstrates how each one can be used as a novel way to market any business, whatever products or services they sell, or market they work in.

The paper says the secret to creating a high-impact marketing plan is to optimise your limited budget.

It cautions that a one-off radio advertisement campaign, glossy brochure, or HTML5/flash-enabled website will swiftly reduce your budget and damage your marketing objectives and plans.

It concludes: “The further you can stretch your marketing pounds to reach your target market in multiple channels, the higher the impact of your marketing message.”

The white paper may or may not embolden small businesses to go head-to-head with Saatchi & Saatchi, with its 6,500 employees working in 140 offices in 76 countries.

But at least it’s a start …