7 Things that a SME can do to Digitalize Their Market Communication

5 min readJun 3, 2020

The unprecedented events of the initial three months of 2020 have taught CEOs, CROs, CMOs and SME in every corner of the world a valuable lesson. That million-dollar lesson is that post-COVID19, digital marketing communication is not a choice but a necessity.

“When the unthinkable happens, and traditional modes of personal communication literally shut down, the very survival of the company could be at stake,” says Robert Reiss in Forbes article, After Q1 2020, Digital Transformation Is No Longer an Option.

This begs the question — how to take the digital route?

1. Three Components of Digital Communication

First thing first. Any digital exercise should be firmly grounded on what you want to achieve from it — leads, or brand-building? Bain and Deloitte have recognized that the most important component of online marketing communication is ‘customer engagement.’ Cognitive science has revealed three ways in which businesses can connect with a customer for better engagement, especially during crisis time:

Sharing appropriate information
A touch, sight, voice interface
An emotive connection

2. Taking Your Business Online

In a country where SME account for 40 percent of all hiring, and contributes 30% to the GDP, coronavirus has sucked the winds from our sails. There is lower liquidity, leading to salary cuts and layoffs. In order to rise like the phoenix from the ashes, SMEs need to switch to the low-cost digitization model in order to hit the ‘present + forward’ button to sustainability. The good news, according to a study conducted by Statista is that almost half of the world is already in the bracket of active internet users, who largely access the service on their personal handsets. With such a huge user base, it’s not difficult to digitize your business with the help of a bunch of smart software, data and mobile apps, suggests Ihor Feoktistov in Why and how to digitize your business with mobile apps today.

3. Upping the Numbers on Digital Spends

Chew on these numbers: Even if COVID19 had not happened, in the past couple of years:

34% of companies have already undergone a significant digital transformation. — Smart Insights
44% companies have taken a digital-first approach to customer experience. — IDG
56% CEOs admit that digital improvements lead to revenue growth. — Gartner
84% customer-centric companies focus on mobile experience. — Vision Critical
76% companies are starting to invest in emerging technology. — Accenture

(Source Forbes — 40 Stats on Digital Transformation and Customer Experience by Blake Morgan)

Compared to these numbers, India is far behind in the race to digitalise. At present, nearly 68% Indian SMEs continue to operate offline with zero digital marketing communications. A good digital marketing agency in India can provide SMEs a clear strategy on how to beat the slump with a bunch of breakthrough initiatives in a new-fangled, post-COVID19 market.

4. Making Full-Frontal Customer Connect

Past research indicates that 75% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase from a company that knows their name and purchase history and recommends products based on their preferences (Accenture). This can happen only with use of smart algorithms, machine learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. Simultaneously, SMEs need to strengthen their mobile presence. At present, while 60% companies believe they are providing good mobile experience to their customers, only 22% consumers happen to agree with them (Qualtrics), even while 43% millennials contact a service from their mobile devices (Microsoft) and 42% consumers’ total time spent online is on mobile devices (Stone Temple).

Online it’s possible for SMEs to use a slew of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools to gauge customer preferences and tailor their services, accordingly. Today an experienced digital marketing agency in India can easily assist you in building a user-friendly website that strengthens your digital and mobile presence in no time, before the lockdown is lifted. While complying with the new norms of ‘social distancing’ you can continue to conduct most of your business online, at least display your products/services on a digital platform, suggests Sandip Chhettri in How SMEs can succeed by taking their businesses online in the post-COVID world.

5. Cut Costs and Optimise Your Spends

A digital store, say for a fashion boutique or a quick service restaurant (QSR) requires smaller stock and inventory; less stock; less operating cost than a dine-in outlet and far less working capital than a physical store that may find it difficult to attract footfalls in the post-lockdown market for at least another six to eight months, going by the most conservative estimates. You can easily cut your losses in the interim, by switching to a web or mobile-interface model as the cost of running a business online is 1/10 of that running offline, contend experts.

6. Make Active Use of Social Media Campaigns

For the #StayAtHome market, YouTube has announced a ‘Video Builder Tool’, which lets SMEs generate video content for free. In beta for the past few months, the release of this tool was fast-tracked to help SMEs beat the COVID19 slump.

Ali Miller, YouTube director of Product Management describes the new tool in Video creation is fast, easy and free with YouTube Video Builder, “It animates static assets — images, text and logos — with music from our library.”Fundamentally users are able to create, customise short videos of around six or fifteen seconds and post on various social media channels or use these in a YouTube ad campaign.

7. Digital Engagement Campaigns for Post-COVID19 World

A per a Pinterest study searches for ‘support small business’ have shot up by 351% on their platform along with a steep rise in ‘eco-friendly living’ and ‘zero waste products’ by as much as 93% and 108%, respectively. Responding to this demand, the social media platform has pulled in new products onto the Pinterest Shop from 21 SMEs dealing in these businesses.

Similarly, Facebook has kicked-off a ‘Business Resource Hub’ to support small scale businesses affected by the pandemic. The free-to-access centre packs in, a ‘resilience toolkit’ carrying information about avoiding business disruptions, besides a ‘quick action guide’ to coordinate responsive action. Likewise, Instagram has come up with a sticker program to aid SMEs.

This is an opportunity to spring upon online marketing communication and focus on taking affirmative action and tide above the crisis. Reach out to Litmus Branding for any doubts or queries.