SMEs support marketing departments during hard times

Small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs) take a more pro-active approach to marketing when it comes to dealing with economic hardship than their larger counterparts.
A study from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) reveals that SMEs continue to invest in advertising in the face of financial pressures, with recruitment remaining on the agenda as a means of stimulating growth.

While 15 per cent of smaller businesses say they would take on additional marketing staff during a downturn, a small fraction (three per cent) of companies with a turnover between £50 million and £100 million admitted they would do the same.

Those figures are reflected in the level of job security felt by employees at their respective types of enterprise, as 24 per cent of ad pros at large firms fear for their jobs, while only 14 per cent of those at SMEs have similar concerns.

Ray Jones, the CIM´s head of communications and external affairs, noted earlier this year that marketers can play a "key role" in stimulating growth.

© Equi=Media Ltd