SME Marketing.

Marketing is always an interesting challenge to any business, no matter its size or area. It is essential in the normal relationship between the business and the market, as the offer and competition are more and more extensive and aggressive. Marketing helps with facing these difficulties as well as with developing processes such as internationalization, introduction new products, services or brands in the market, making the relationship with costumers better, studying new markets. In Portugal in 2013 there were (according to the Portuguese Institute of Statistic - INE) about 1.1Million of SME*, which provide for about 2.8 Million jobs and represent 99,9% of the total of the Portuguese companies. In the EU, at the same time, there were about 23 Million of SME, which provide for about 75 Million jobs and represent 99% of the total companies. According to an Member of the European Commission responsible for Enterprise and Industry:

“Small businesses represent a key driving force in the European economy and are a major source of employment and innovation in goods and services. As such, they fulfil a vital role in the EU’s current growth and employment strategy to help Europe compete in an increasingly competitive global economy.” Günter Verheugen

If we analyse the importance SME have in Portugal and considering that 96,2% (according to INE) of these businesses have up to 9 employees it is easily understood that has been neglected, legging behind the usual areas any business has, such as: management, accountancy, commercial, production and sales. The problem of the subordination of the role of Marketing in SME turns even more critical if we consider the skills the training or the specific experience that hardly exist in these businesses. Even the cleverest entrepreneurs who keep for themselves that responsibility, especially in the smallest businesses most of the times they don’t have enough time to dedicate to Marketing, due to their work in management. Nowadays markets and costumers are more and more demanding and informed. They expect businesses to give them quick and clear answer using direct channels such as digital blogs, websites and social media. So it is needed to be on level with the answers to the continuous challenges raised by the market in a professional competent and effective way.

The short resources SME have may reduce the creativity and the ability of answering to marketing subjects. As a consequence, the access to marketing innovation is compromised without promoting any return to businesses. To go beyond this problem is the challenge for SME. How is it possible, without many financial resources, to create departments or marketing teams to use their tools in their own profit? To answer this question we have to count on the qualified workers or to benefit of external support in marketing. It is difficult to work with budgets that are often limited. But nothing is impossible if people work with objectives and strategies based on this premises.

So, the challenge facing SME is to know:

  • Which are the objectives to reach with marketing?
  • Which are the most efficient methods of marketing?
  • How do we understand costumers?
  • Which are the techniques to keep, become loyal and conquer new costumers?
  • How much do we have to invest in marketing?
  • Will it be necessary to use the services of an external marketing expert?

* SME are small and medium businesses that employees less then 250 workers, and whose annual volume does not exceed 50 Million Euros, and whose final balance does not exceed 43 Million Euros.


Marketing Projects


Communication Projects


Businesses Strategies



10 Books that inspire our work.


SME Marketing.


Address |
Avenida D. Afonso Henriques 1196,
2º andar – sala 201
4450-012 Matosinhos

Telephone |
+351 223 231 246