Comparing Marketing Strategies: SMEs vs. Large Businesses (MKT3025)

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of entrepreneurial marketing, focusing on the distinctions between marketing practices in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and large businesses. The report begins with an introduction to entrepreneurial marketing, defining its significance in identifying and exploiting marketing opportunities. It uses the Red and Blue Restaurant as a case study to analyze the internal and external factors of the marketing environment, including competitors, trends, threats, and customer understanding. The main body of the report identifies key operational marketing issues faced by SMEs, such as resource limitations, platform selection, and adapting to technological changes. The report then critically compares and contrasts standard marketing theories like the marketing mix and SWOT analysis with practical marketing techniques like word-of-mouth and innovative marketing. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the importance of adapting marketing strategies to the specific context of the business, whether it is an SME or a large corporation. The report also makes references to the assignment brief provided, as well as the required readings for the module.

Entrepreneurial
marketing

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
a. Analysis of distinguishing features of small business marketing environment.......................1
b. Identification of key marketing operational issues that are faced by new ventures and small
businesses in specific sector and industries in a global context..................................................3
c. Critical comparison and contrasting of standard marketing theory and practice.....................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurial marketing can be defined as the process of identifying and exploiting
marketing opportunities for businesses so that goals such as increased number of customers,
enhanced sales and profits etc. While planning to adapting this concept it is essential for all the
businesses to make sure that they are able to formulate effective strategies and decisions for
future as it is required to attain success (Alqahtani and Uslay, 2020). This report is mainly based
upon analysis of difference in the marketing of a SME and medium or large company. The
organisation which is selected for this report is Red and Blue Restaurant which is operating
business in food industry. It is established in Liverpool, United Kingdom. This report covers
various topics such as distinguishing features of small business marketing environment, key
marketing operational issues faced by small entities or new ventures etc. Additionally,
comparison and contrasting of marketing theory is also drawn in this report.
MAIN BODY
a. Analysis of distinguishing features of small business marketing environment
Marketing environment can be defined as the combination of external and internal
environmental factors which are required to be focused by all the entities to carry out operations
successfully. In order to reach the business goals such as higher profits, increased number of
customers, positive image in the market etc. it is essential for all the companies to make sure that
all the factors of it are focused. Red and Blue Restaurant is one of the small entities of UK and it
is essential for it to be aware of all the factors of marketing environment (Marketing
environment, 2020). Discussion of all of them for the company is as follows:
Internal environment: These factors are the elements that are available within the
organisation and affecting the marketing operations of the business. The main elements of this
environment are the five Ms which are men, money, machinery, material and market. While
performing marketing related activities it is very important for marketers to make sure that all
these factors are focused by them. In Red and Blue Restaurant, the marketing team pay attention
towards all of them. The members working in the groups analyse that they are having sufficient
workforce, monetary resources, machines and material to carry out business and a proper place
to target. The main departments which are focused to perform activities related to the
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components are sales, human resources, marketing and manufacturing (Crick, Crick and
Chaudhry, 2020).
External environment: All the external forces leaving impact upon marketing efforts of
the entity are the part of external environment. In order to sustain in the market and get positive
results from marketing efforts it is very important for all the entities such as Red and Blue
Restaurant to make sure that they are focusing upon all the elements of it. Some of them are
competitors, customers, government, market intermediaries, technological developments,
economic condition and demographic changes. By paying attention towards all of them the
restaurant performs marketing related activities so that large number of customers could be
attracted.
There are various distinguishing features of marketing environment of Red and Blue
Restaurant. All of them could be understood with the help of following discussion:
 Provides understanding of competitors: The marketing environment of small
businesses such as Red and Blue Restaurants helps to analyse the competitors and their
strategies so that effective decisions to deal with them could be formulated. The external
environment plays a vital role in it (Hoque and Awang, 2019).
 Analysis of trends: The marketing environment is mainly focused to market research so
that effective ways to attract customers could be determined. In Red and Blue Restaurant
marketers analyse the potential trends that are taking place in food industry so that all of
them could be used to formulate effective strategies for future.
 Assessment of potential threats and opportunities: One of the features of marketing
environment is that it helps to analyse the threats and opportunities for business by
assessing the internal as well as external environment. It facilitates Red and Blue
Restaurant to be prepare to deal with all the uncertainties that may take place in future.
Apart from this, it also helps the entity to grab the opportunities that are available for it in
the industry.
 Understanding the targeted customers: Marketing environment helps to understand the
requirements of the individuals who are targeted by the entity. It guides marketers of Red
and Blue Restaurant to provide details of such food items to the audiences that could be
bought or ordered by them from the enterprise.
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b. Identification of key marketing operational issues that are faced by new ventures and small
businesses in specific sector and industries in a global context
Marketing is the process of sharing detailed information of products or services with the
customers that are offered by the organisation. It is very important for new ventures, small,
medium and large companies to market their offerings as it can help to grow the business. While
performing marketing operations different types of issues could be faced by new ventures and
small businesses such as Red and Blue Restaurant (Kilenthong, Hultman and Hills, 2016). All of
them are discussed below in detail:
Lack of required resources: It is one of the major issues which are faced by new
businesses or small entities in food industry because there could be a lack of resources such as
people, time and funds. If a new business will be established in the market then it will be very
difficult for it to arrange funding for marketing activities. On the other hand, small businesses
like Red and Blue Restaurant are also not able to spend their resources on marketing as they have
various other activities to perform.
Choosing the best platform to market the offerings: For all the new ventures and small
businesses in food industry it is very important to select the best platform to market the products
and services so that growth and success could eb acquired. For example, there are various
marketing options available for them such as social media marketing, advertising, promotions,
personal selling etc. All such types of businesses are required to choose the best one which is
suitable for them and it is essential for them select the platform specifically (Nijssen, 2017).
Continuous execution of marketing activities: If a small or new business is willing to
get positive results in food sector with the help of it marketing efforts then it is very important to
execute them continuously. For new ventures and small entities such as Red and Blue Restaurant
it is essential to make sure that these are paying attention towards marketing continuously and
for them it is very difficult as their main focus is to fulfil requirements of clients. Once they will
receive more orders then their focus from marketing will be diverted.
Changes in technology and trends: Marketing related trends and technology changes
frequently in food industry and if an entity will be using an old version of it then it will be very
difficult to execute marketing operations properly. For new ventures and small entities like Red
and Blue Restaurant it is not easy to be aware of all of the changes. It creates difficulties for them
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to use the latest technology or trend to perform marketing activities (Sadiku-Dushi, Dana and
Ramadani, 2019).
c. Critical comparison and contrasting of standard marketing theory and practice
Standard marketing theories are the set of different types of models which are used by
entities for the purpose of analysing the steps that should be taken to attain success. Some of the
specific theories used in marketing by Red and Blue Restaurant and large entities like Big Easy
Canary Wharf are as follows:
Marketing mix: It is one of the main standard marketing theories which is used by
entities to formulate effective decisions for future. There are four main elements of it which are
product, price, place and promotion. In Red and Blue Restaurant all these components are
focused but while making the decisions the marketers formulate them on the basis of current
position of business. In Big Easy Canary Wharf, the marketers formulate strategies related to all
of them by analysing market situations, competitors and future goals (Whalen and Akaka, 2016).
SWOT analysis: It is also a theory which is used while formulating marketing decisions.
With the help of it, all the companies try to analyse all their strength, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats. In small restaurants like Red and Blue Restaurant all of them are assessed without
any proper research because of lack of resources. In Big Easy Canary Wharf, all the components
of SWOT are analysed with the help of proper research so that possibility of difficulties in future
could be ignored.
Some of the specific marketing practices are discussed below which are also focused by
small as well as large entities in food industry:
Word of mouth: It is a type of marketing in which information regarding effective
services and product of entities is shared by the users to others. For small as well as large entities
it is one of the common modes of marketing. With the help of it, Big Easy Canary Wharf and
Red and Blue restaurants try to become more popular.
Innovative marketing: It is the combination of all the latest developments in the
marketing so that benefits of products and services could eb communicated with clients. It could
be used by large entities as it requires time and proper research. For small restaurants like Red
and Blue it will be very difficult to use it (Yang and Gabrielsson, 2017).
Comparison between marketing practices and theories:
Marketing practices Marketing theories
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These are the set of activities which are
focused by companies to meet the business
goals.
These are the models which are used to analyse
business position and then formulate future
decisions.
Examples of it are word of mouth, innovative
marketing etc.
Example of it are SWOT analysis, Marketing
mix etc.
Contrasting of marketing practices and theories: These are focused by all the small as well
as large entities for the purpose of increasing awareness of business (Yang, 2018). With the help
of them, the enterprises try to reach their goals of capturing large market area, increased profits
etc.
CONCLUSION
From the above project report, it has been concluded that entrepreneurial marketing is the
process of analysing marketing opportunities and using them to develop the business. The
marketing environment of small businesses consist internal as well as external factors. Some of
its features are understanding competitors and customers, analysing trends etc. The issues which
could be faced by small entities while marketing are lack of resource, selection of best platform
etc. Some of the specific theories and practice of standard marketing are Marketing Mix, SWOT
analysis, Word of Mouth and Innovative marketing.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Alqahtani, N. and Uslay, C., 2020. Entrepreneurial marketing and firm performance: Synthesis
and conceptual development. Journal of Business Research. 113. pp.62-71.
Crick, J. M., Crick, D. and Chaudhry, S., 2020. Entrepreneurial marketing decision-making in
rapidly internationalising and de-internationalising start-up firms. Journal of Business
Research. 113. pp.158-167.
Hoque, A. S. M. M. and Awang, Z., 2019. Does gender difference play moderating role in the
relationship between entrepreneurial marketing and Bangladeshi SME
performance?. Accounting. 5(1). pp.35-52.
Kilenthong, P., Hultman, C. M. and Hills, G. E., 2016. Entrepreneurial marketing behaviours:
impact of firm age, firm size and firm’s founder. Journal of Research in Marketing and
Entrepreneurship.
Nijssen, E. J., 2017. Entrepreneurial marketing: an effectual approach. Taylor & Francis.
Sadiku-Dushi, N., Dana, L. P. and Ramadani, V., 2019. Entrepreneurial marketing dimensions
and SMEs performance. Journal of Business Research, 100, pp.86-99.
Whalen, P. S. and Akaka, M. A., 2016. A dynamic market conceptualization for entrepreneurial
marketing: the co-creation of opportunities. Journal of Strategic Marketing. 24(1).
pp.61-75.
Yang, M. and Gabrielsson, P., 2017. Entrepreneurial marketing of international high-tech
business-to-business new ventures: A decision-making process perspective. Industrial
Marketing Management. 64. pp.147-160.
Yang, M., 2018. International entrepreneurial marketing strategies of MNCs: Bricolage as
practiced by marketing managers. International Business Review. 27(5). pp.1045-1056.
Online
Marketing environment. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.feedough.com/marketing-environment/#:~:text=What%20is
%20Marketing%20Environment%3F,internal%20and%20an%20external
%20environment.>
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