The SME Leader’s Guide to Marketing in a Digital Age

This article was written by Dr David Cockayne PhD, MSc, BA, SFHEA, Associate Dean and External Engagement at the University of Liverpool School of Management.

Small businesses face a fundamental challenge: competing against larger enterprises with more resources. But today's digital landscape can level the playing field. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) now possess the ability to move fast, learn quickly, and adapt using digital tools and real-time data.

For example, social media platforms can function as market research engines, revealing real-time insights into preferences, trends, and competitive activity.

ChatGPT integrations also creates opportunities for productivity, efficiency, and market intelligence. This tool can be leveraged to analysis customer reviews to identify pain points and patterns.

This article will cover how SMEs can use these digital tools to gain a digital competitive edge by acquiring competitive intelligence and creating content.

Modern SME leaders can succeed by gathering market intelligence faster than competitors. Here are three ways SMEs can do this:

1. Social Listening for Trend Detection: Use Google Trends and X's trending topics to identify emerging industry conversations. Set up Google Alerts for industry keywords. Monitor competitor social media comments for customer complaints that represent opportunities.

2. AI-Powered Customer Analysis: By copying customer reviews into ChatGPT with prompts like "You are a marketing analyst. Analyse these reviews and identify the top 3 customer pain points, areas of satisfaction, and offer 3-5 areas for service improvement." AI identifies patterns across hundreds of reviews within minutes, providing insights to refine product descriptions, improve service offerings, and tailor marketing messages.

3. Real-Time Competitive Intelligence: Social media provides immediate access to competitor strategies. Screenshot competitor adverts from Facebook Ad Library, analyse content themes using AI, and identify messaging gaps. When competitors receive negative reviews about slow service, promote your quick response times.

AI tools democratise content creation capabilities that previously required dedicated marketing teams. SMEs can now produce professional-quality, targeted content at scale.

For a  content strategy, ChatGPT can be an effective tool. To generate a content calendar, a bakery looking to target an audience could simply type: "Create a month of social media content ideas for a local bakery targeting health-conscious families." In this instance, AI would provide 30 days of specific post ideas, hashtag suggestions, and engagement strategies.

This can be taken further, ChatGPT can be asked to “create 3 distinctive content pillars, and ideas for each one to be posted weekly. For each idea, specify the theme, audience, key message, and make a recommended caption, and suggested visual for Instagram, present this in a table, and ask any questions to refine further.”  By doing this while editing, and experimenting with prompts, a business leader can draft a content strategy without days of planning.

AI tools can also optimise product descriptions for different platforms. It can help create  e-commerce descriptions that are focused on features, and social media captions that emphasise product benefits, as well as email content that highlights value propositions."

On top of this, if you have ChatGPT plus (paid version) you can conduct “deep research” and ask for a table comparing your product descriptions against your top 3 competitors (you’ll have to name them). From this you can position differently and offer something others aren’t.

Each platform requires distinct approaches optimised for its algorithm and user behaviour patterns. Below is how a business can optimise a variety of channels:

• Instagram:  Use Instagram Insights to identify audience active hours and engagement patterns. This enables a business to post during peak activity periods, leverage algorithm preference for video content through Reels, and AI tools to generate trending hashtags.

• LinkedIn: Share industry insights and comment thoughtfully on relevant posts. LinkedIn's algorithm favours content generating professional discussions. Use analytics to identify engaging topics, then create more content around those themes.

• TikTok: TikTok rewards creativity and trend adoption speed. Use trending audio clips and hashtags. Create educational content, behind-the-scenes videos, or trend adaptations. Analytics reveal which elements drive engagement.

• Facebook: Join local Facebook groups to understand community needs. Use detailed audience insights to understand local demographics, informing content strategy and product development.

• Transaction Facilitation Through Digital Integration Modern digital tools enable seamless customer journeys from awareness to purchase.

• Social Commerce Integration Instagram Shopping, Facebook Marketplace, and TikTok Shopping enable direct sales through social platforms. Customers discover products and complete purchases without leaving the platform.

• WhatsApp Business for Sales Transform customer enquiries into sales conversations through immediate communication. Use automated greetings, share product catalogues, and facilitate appointment scheduling.

• AI-Enhanced Customer Support Implement chatbots for initial enquiries whilst maintaining human oversight for complex issues. Create comprehensive FAQ sections addressing customer concerns proactively.

Modern SME marketing success requires embracing digital intelligence tools, maintaining operational agility, and optimising continuously based on real-time feedback. Through the Help to Grow: Management Course business can begin segmenting potential online consumers and identifying how to reach them.

Competitive advantage for SMEs lies in moving faster, learning quicker, and adapting more rapidly than larger competitors.

Start with social listening and AI-powered market research. Build awareness through platform-specific content strategies. Use AI tools to create and personalise content at scale. Facilitate transactions through integrated social commerce. Measure performance continuously and optimise based on real-time data.

SMEs that embrace digital intelligence as core business capability will thrive. The tools exist - success depends on your willingness to experiment, learn, and implement.