I recently read an article that shared some interesting insights into Australian SMEs (the study on SMEs was done by RSMBC and published in NETT Magazine) the study revealed:

• that there was a 10% drop in SMEs recording a revenue growth
• that 77% of SME surveyed expected their business to grow in the next two years
• and 76% of SMEs say they have a formal business plan

As an SME owner or marketer where do you fit in with these results? Are you with the majority who plan to grow in the next two years, or those that have a formal business plan? Or are you wondering if you're going survive, and not sure where to invest your marketing dollars?

Either way, my question to you is - Do you know how you are going to grow your business? How are you going to get more leads, more customers and increase profits? Do you know which marketing tactic generates the most customers, the most leads or the lowest CPA (cost per acquisition). Do you know how track and measure your marketing to get an accurate ROI for each marketing tactic?

Based on the results I have seen in the US, the SMEs that not only survived the extremely  tough US economic climate, but actually grew, were the SMEs that moved with the times and took a different approach to marketing. They adopted the inbound marketing methodology and invested in the software and training to get better at marketing. If you're looking to get ahead of the competition, and grow your business you need to be doing the following, and if you're not you need to learn more. 

So here it is...my list of 7 SME marketing strategies integral to your business growth:

1. Know your buyer personas - what's important to them, what they are looking for, their painpoints, frustrations, needs and values.
2. Understand the buy process of your customers - what information is important to them at different stages of the buy process - this is key to successful lead nurturing so you don't lose a qualified lead by trying to sell too early in the buy process.
3. Publish remarkable content that generates qualified leads - once you understand your buyer personas, and the information for which they are looking, publish it in all forms so they can find it and share it with their friends.
4. Learn how to nurture your leads to help them buy - timely and relevant information is the key to successfully nurturing your leads to help them buy.
5. Implement marketing systems - and processes to efficiently manage tasks.
6. Invest in marketing software - that integrates all the tools required to market effectively - website, blog, seo, social media, email marketing, landing pages, lead intelligence.
7. Use integrated analytics and reporting software - view analytics that close the loop between marketing task, and customer at the push of button. Saving hours of time messing around with different reports from different sources and excel sheets.

If you would like to learn more about any or all of these marketing strategies and how they will help your business grow - book in a marketing assessment today.