How smart, smaller clients are finding their voice (even with small bud#@*s)

Article written in first person following an interview with the agency director. This article was part of a series of published Campaign Brief articles that increased the agency's presence and authority in the industry.

While a digital marketing strategy can no longer claim to be the new kid on the block, for many clients that come through the door of our boutique agency, Breadbox Marketing, it is still a space that can be overwhelming and even daunting to throw their often tight budget into.

With small or medium sized business, the marketing decision maker is often the owner or managing director of the company. Without the resources for a marketing manager, these businesses have been lagging in respect to employing the all important digital strategy – it’s a harder media landscape to navigate and to see an ad appear in press or hear it on radio, they feel they are getting a tangible result for their spend. To justify the illusionary CTR statistics and sell a much-needed SEO package for example, it can be a venture that requires a lot of trust between agency and client.

With an abundance of information available to DIY a digital marketing plan, there is also the risk of smaller clients attempting to manage the process themselves and ending up with a poorly performing campaign or even worse, a brand damaging result. The role of a boutique marketing agency is really crucial to filter the abundance of information and provide and manage a clear strategy from the start.

Without sounding too “back in my day”, there did used to be saturation in the market for big businesses to pour money into advertising and then own their market category. While this can arguably still be true today with smaller businesses continuing to fight against being drowned out by large corporate budgets, the digital world is allowing a well positioned brand to have a more meaningful voice – and as creative, business savvy people with innovative ideas, they surely deserve one.

We are seeing a lot of innovative companies; often start ups that are creating products and services that are striving to meet community and environmental needs, rather than the one-dimensional needs of big industry. These smart businesses are of course, also consumers and they are cleverly recognising the desire for thoughtful consumption - not just consumption for consumptions sake. This is where the dissemination of information and authentic engagement can become very powerful. It isn't about bombarding the customer with a 'buy more, buy now' message, it is about offering information and choice. 

We all know that consumer attention is continually shifting more and more to the screen; they are more marketing savvy than ever and are now demanding content that is meaningful and engaging. The tried and true strategy of ‘expose a single-minded message x times and the brand will be trusted’ may no longer be the case. Consumers are searching for peer feedback on products and services, expecting two-way communication with an authentic voice that reflects their values, and they are not only allowing, but inviting brands into their personal space. Content in marketing has really come full circle with this shift in consumer behavior and this is where smaller businesses can have an advantage. By providing authentic, even personalised content, they are capitalising on more personal relationships with consumers and respecting their right to choose them.

What this all boils down to, is that digital marketing has allowed smaller businesses to make a real impact on the advertising industry as their audience can be targeted more narrowly and their marketing dollar can be stretched further and can then generate ongoing activity with viral reach. The small budget isn’t a four letter word anymore; we are seeing some really exciting results from starter companies, small unique brands, and niche family-run businesses – their consumers are loyal, they work hard, and now, more than ever, they have their hat in the ring against global companies who used to easily monopolise the space.