Why A Well Designed 360-Degree Marketing Strategy Is Paramount For MSMEs?

Madhushree Dutta Aug 17, 2020

The Marketing landscape in the recent times has changed significantly with advancement in technology.

While few sectors/industries are adapting to the rapid changes and putting in efforts to catch up with strategies deployed in the recent times, this was unheard of a decade or two ago. However, few are yet to establish themselves as progressive players in this space, particularly the MSME sector .

The Concept of 360 degrees marketing has enlarged the scope of brand building beyond traditional media channels in the digital era. The SME Sector particularly, which runs on shoe string budgets, find it difficult to cope up with a huge marketing spend, and that has been one of the main reasons for them to shy away from deploying a workable marketing strategy.

India is going through a transition phase, and today, we have 6.33 crore plus MSMEs, aspiring to be giants of tomorrow. We just cannot ignore Marketing and Brand Positioning as a part of their core growth journey.

Brand building is the keystone of any successful business. MSME’s need to understand that brand building is a necessity, not a luxury.

The goal of 360-degree marketing is to ensure that the message is consistent across the channels which are necessary to keep the consumers engaged with the product and understand the brand better in a cost efficient way. A Well thought strategy helps them build on customer experience, find eco-system partners, be present & visible ,share their stories and have the right media exposure and also hire the right consultants for the brand to grow. Today SMAC as we call it ( Social Media, Mobile Technolog, Analytics, Cloud Technology ) are all advanced, affordable and all pervasive. Media houses offer Digital Promotions through AI Platforms ( Artificial Intelligence) in the most cost effective way. Gone are the days where one had to draft huge marketing budgets and be only on bill boards or participate in expensive BTL activities/events.

MSME’s play a vital role in Developed and Developing countries, offering a sizeable contribution to the growth. Irrespective of the growing importance of SMEs in global economy, a major portion of industry is performing as a “Commodity”. – Any movement, the commodity may loose its “EDGE” in the midst of the clutter of Brands. A Well initiated 360 degrees marketing strategy would help them increase the competitive edge for long run profit Survival.