There are two topics to which everything or almost everything has been said: «Marketing» and «SMEs». However, objectively I began to carry out a mental exercise about my experience as a business consultant and the great coincidences that we frequently find in companies, regardless of the economic sector to which they belong, the products or services they market and markets that attend, tend to present.
In many organizations we observe that there are Strategic Marketing Plans, very well carried out, which remain in that in "Plans", in documents that are not implemented and that become one more accessory of the library. That is why, I want to emphasize this article, in two words that I consider fundamental, since on them the success or failure in the execution of any marketing strategy in a company largely depends, and even more so in SMEs where resources They are generally limited and we cannot afford to make too many mistakes (I say too much, because we will surely make them, this is part of the learning process).
These words are Commitment and Discipline
The Commitment consists of the connection and active participation that from the top management of the company (in SMEs they are generally the same owners) to the lowest-ranking employee are part of a Marketing process. Carrying out the implementation of Marketing strategies that help us to be more competitive, will probably require making changes within the organization and the above does not only refer to the departments and people who are directly related to the issue. On many occasions the key success factor to achieve Marketing results, we find it in the areas of Human Talent, in information technology or Logistics, to name just a few of these.
The companies where the management is an active part and links its work team in the generation of ideas, selection of strategies and design of action plans, will have a greater probability of success than those that do not.
Discipline is fundamental, Marketing does not work miracles, nor is there a magic recipe to sell more or be more profitable than the competition. The positioning of a brand, whether it is a product or service, requires time, work and dedication. "Marketing is a discipline that seeks through a series of tools to differentiate from similar offers in the market, so that the client or consumer we are targeting, prefers us and is willing to pay a price for that offer that we represent ». The previous definition of Marketing is the one I identify with the most, although in all sincerity I do not clearly remember its author.
Like all Disciplines, the implementation of a Strategic Marketing Plan must become a routine and allow time for its results, yes, periodically measuring if these are being achieved, in order to take the necessary corrections.
The Discipline refers to the way we carry out what is planned, not to improvise or make isolated or momentary decisions that distance us from the long-term objectives (Vision) to solve the immediate problem, The Discipline obliges us to comply with the defined action plans. This does not mean that we are not flexible, of course we must do it! and we adapt to the environment in which we operate, even more so in the current situation that we are going through worldwide.
That is why, with all the more reason, only companies that are "disciplined" and prepare in an organized manner will be able to survive and emerge stronger than those that do not.
