27 Nov 2008

About 62 per cent of small businesses are slashing marketing budgets and taking that work back in-house, according to a Coleman Parkes survey of 150 UK-based small and medium businesses.

Phil Jones, sales and marketing director at Brother, which commissioned the report said small firms are feeling the downturn.

“Our research shows that business owners are reducing overheads to maintain margins and marketing is one of the first areas to be cut,” he claimed.

However, the key is to prune away unnecessary costs while nurturing prospects for growth. Small companies that start to produce some advertising materials themselves, for instance, can move swiftly to take advantage of a timely selling opportunity, he said.

Jones’ experiences in IT and the Manchester Chamber of Commerce suggest it is the firms that continue to invest in marketing during difficult times that are more likely to survive.

The trend also creates new opportunities for resellers, which can offer services and solutions for A3 printing and copying for promotional materials, he claimed.

Brother recently funded what could be the world’s largest classified advertisement, with around 80 emerging small businesses across greater Manchester taking A3-size adverts on a 48-sheet poster site in the city’s central business district. “Resellers can focus on technology that delivers professional quality for flyers, adverts and promotional materials,” said Jones.

James Kight, managing director of reseller Printerland, agreed. “This is one of our best routes to market when discussing total cost of ownership. Most customers are not aware what they can print.”

Printerland asks all its customers what they outsource and explains the savings, while HP has a web page about in-house marketing with tips and a cost estimator.

“It also allows them to print on demand rather than storing and possibly wasting marketing materials,” said Rhiannon Williams, HP’s SME market manager.

But Robert May, managing director of Surrey consultancy Ramsac, said in-house marketing often does not work.

“They often revert to the outsourced model soon after,” he warned. “In an economic slowdown, profile-raising remains paramount. Reducing spend here is very short sighted."