Synopsis of talk given by Ashwin Merchant, Marketing Expert at CII, Nagpur, on turnaround time for MSMEs on July 14, 2010

Difficult time always brings new opportunities for forward looking marketers, businessmen and entrepreneurs to optimise their market share take over competitors' customers and add more value to current customers. The time is to chalk out a detailed marketing plan for developing existing business with an eye to future. Make your business a winner and not just a survivor. Invest your time and talent now for future and stay ahead for a long time. You may require adopting a nmarketing strategy or market planning to be more cost effective using lucrative marketing techniques and tools.

Business Definition for: Turnaround Management states that the implementation of a set of actions required saving an organisation from business failure and returning it to operational normality and financial solvency. Turnaround management usually requires an investigation of the root causes of failure and long-term programs to revitalise the organisation.

For successful business operations finance and marketing plays a very important role. Finance is generally obtained from personal, family and friends' support but days have gone that business can only be done with one's own funds and one can really start looking out for funding and financing from banks and FIs, private equity and at a future date SME IPOs. So, if finance is a hurdle, there are ways and means to supplement this area. Now, another major business function is marketing. Today, business is marketing. Ignorance of marketing is a great risk and many SME owners, technocrats and factory persons are paying a huge price for not paying attention to changing needs of customers and market, that's marketing. The basic aptitude of SME promoters, owners for not investing into intangibles and professional services has ruined the organisation a great deal in long time, now looked upon as looser who cannot cope with the changed phenomenon.

The other SMEs from the same cluster, area and category/size who took timely action for growth have prospered and are in majority of cases not suffered by world recession and slow down. In fact, due to ready to serve global market, these SMEs have been benefited in comparison with their counterparts in countries worldwide. Quality controls, ISO certifications, trade fair participations, delegate visits, branding locally and internationally as individual products and/or company on its own or as a factor of cluster, which have been aggressively promoted by government in last several years. The price benefits due to Dollar/Rupee exchange as well as successful backend management helped select SMEs in last couple of years. Though, they are few in numbers but their success clearly is lesson to others that how orientation to business development and marketing supported with a business plan can take companies miles ahead and virtually out of local competition. The global exposure also helps to improve quality, design, packaging, pricing and service factors, which help them in local market - so such SMEs are helped both ways.

How SMEs can work on mistakes in past and lead marketing today?

1. Identify the changing need of your customer - market dynamics 2. Target your competitors' customers - do you know who and why they are? 3. Surprise with novel offers and terms - customer friendly business terms? 4. Make price a USP - if product not branded 5. Find new market nationally and internationally - understand and reach 6. No cost cutting but cost management - suffocating marketing, promotion 7. Make all efforts to understand the core competency of your product - audit 8. Be visible and be in the minds of your customers - marketing strategy 9. Have vision, courage and guards to do something new - policy decision 10. If not new, do it differently - find alternate ways to remain in market 11. Do not make mistake to discount the quality - acceptance is key factor 12. Do not forget your customer - always be in touch, relationship marketing, and 13. Keep tab ongoing basis on 3Cs - customer, competition, change.

SMEs are recommended to have a systematic Road Map worked out for 1 to 3 years and develop a business plan to achieve goals and objectives. Some of the marketing strategies like niche marketing, database marketing, cluster specific marketing, guerilla marketing techniques, relationship marketing, integrated follow up marketing strategy are key for success and not very costly. Also, SMEs must invest in technology on all fronts including shortage of skilled and semi skilled manpower, quick turnover of sales and marketing staff, over dependency on a person, and hiring professionals for undertaking tasks and functions which are not the competency of SME owners and promoters. Doing all things by oneself may save some costs, but growth is impossible and when days like the recent past return, survival again will be a challenge. SMEs must take all benefits of government policies and schemes to grow internally and externally. The time to change is now, and re-define business objectives, short term and long term goals, purpose of doing business, re-think on running an enterprise with the same, traditional way or incorporating modern methods and systems of business development including marketing, sales promotion, advertising, brand building and a lot more, re-engineer front-end as well as back-end operations with 'outside in' approach to look at a business model and scrap the old 'inside out' model and of course, change of basic attitude towards role of marketing for customer development, retention and growth. Marketing is an investment and not an expense is what in fundamentally one should understand.

So, SMEs, Please "Wake Up! - No more you can afford to ignore systematic marketing of your business, Get Up! - start planning and develop a Road Map for short term and long term objectives and get Check Up!, from professionals before you start applying."

As a professional my advise SME owners is to:

• Look Out - for specialists who can help you with your goals and objectives
• Watch Out - for competition from local, national and global market; and
• Work Out - smart strategies, innovative, practical and economical marketing and business development plan.

Innovation in product design, pricing strategy, new market understanding, value creation and brand development are key things to work out. And the time starts Now!

(Ashwin Merchant, Marketing Analyst & Strategist, Mumbai. Tel: 022-23510752. Email: marketing@ashwinmerchant.com)