The amount of times I’m walking my dog Chewy and we come face to face with a small breed of dog. Most of the time the other little four legged companion starts yapping, growling and Chewy looks at it and does the dog equivalent of rolling his eyes.
Clearly this, what looks like a small bundle of cuteness thinks he’s got a chance to show who’s boss and in charge of the situation. There are many reasons why in the dog world this happens and most cases this behaviour is dependent on where it fits in the family pack.
So as an SME where does your business fit in the pack?
This is a question I’m asking more and more to SME’s who have either lost their way or don’t really have a plan in place for growth or sustainablility. Most business have a steady plan for growth but do they have a plan that will future proof and sustain their position? Plastic bag manufacturers were flying high 10 years ago, how many of them are still about now?
Small dogs want to be heard, they don’t see themselves any different in position or stature within society. So why should your business be any different?
Yes there is huge difference in size between my local art gallery, The Acorn Gallery and my local Pocklington Arts Centre. But when you search for art locally, The Acorn Gallery are higher on Google than the larger more established council owned art and entertainment centre. In fact if you just use the generic search term ‘Pocklington’ in Google. The smaller art gallery is on the 1st page of google, the Arts Centre that attracts famous singers and comedians is not.
The simple answer is because The Acorn Gallery makes more noise, they have a better search visibility on Google. Why? Because their website is optimised through SEO, they are consistent on social media. They interact with their customers, suppliers and artists using emotive posts. They are approachable and have a clear brand identity. We are talking about a business that has 2 employees who are a husband and wife team. Diane and John Wass work hard and shout loud about what they do. They are the perfect example of how a SME can grow and sustain its position within the marketplace.
So no matter now big you are, the louder shout, the more you will be heard.
