Marketing for small-to-medium enterprises 771
towards a final decision. The point here is that
normally, entrepreneurial networking has no
fixed or standard mechanism in operation,
there is seldom an agenda or objective because
there is no demonstrative ‘process’ in opera-
tion. Networking can be likened to a cloud;
when observed it can be seen but it is difficult
to make tangible contact with all its dimen-
sions. It will appear to be in constant flux but at
the same time it is always recognizable.
Similar to the importance of competency
development for SMEs, networks and network-
ing are hugely important to SMEs. Indeed, it
might be argued that SMEs would find it
extremely difficult to become established with-
out networking and that networking is an
integral part of the continued existence and
survival. It is safe to say that entrepreneurs/
owners/managers in SMEs intuitively build a
network of contacts around themselves that
serve a multiplicity of purposes. Indeed, one
might go further and argue that networking is
an inherent and significant characteristic of
entrepreneurship. The fact is that where there
are entrepreneurs there are networks.
Networking is very useful to SME entre-
preneurs/owners/managers, mainly because it
is integral to doing business, it does not have to
be constructed and contrived, it is not a task to
be completed, it is simply part of everyday
business activity and therefore happens any-
way. All entrepreneurs do networking in some
form or other; indeed, like in any aspect of life,
some will be better at networking than others.
Whatever, because networking is such an intui-
tively natural dimension of entrepreneurial
SME activity, it represents a significant strength
for marketing purposes. Since SMEs are invari-
ably ‘close’ to their customers, aspects of
marketing such as relationship and commu-
nication are important. Networking is precisely
the mechanism by which SMEs can mean-
ingfully achieve such aspects of marketing and
in a way that is compatible with their resource
constraints.
Accepting that networking happens intui-
tively and naturally, is it possible to ‘improve’
networking competency? Here lies a key, net-
working is indeed a competency skill and
therefore it can certainly be developed and
improved. Similar to the notion of accumula-
tion of experiential knowledge through a con-
scious accelerated development, networking
competency can be accelerated by a con-
sciously proactive approach. Such an approach
simply requires an entrepreneur to address an
issue or problem of marketing around a two-
part construct. First, loosely define the issue or
problem, then make a list of people who
might offer an opinion on the issue. These
people are likely to be regular contacts of the
entrepreneur, although with a little concentra-
tion some lesser contacts may emerge. The
entrepreneur is now in a position to trawl his/
her newly defined network. Nothing much
has changed except that the trawling process
may accelerate because it has been consciously
defined and the trawl is now proactive and
not simply naturally occurring. The entrepre-
neur will intuitively know what information is
good, through the dimension of experiential
knowledge, and will be able to make a judge-
mental assessment of the issue and a decision
on how to address it.
Indeed, the two dimensions of network-
ing and competencies together can represent
the core essence of SME marketing which
impacts upon the nature, type and style of
SME marketing activity. These dimensions
represent significant strengths which can be
utilized effectively for successful SME
marketing.
The importance of these strengths can be
seen when the SME business environment is
considered. The vast majority of SMEs operate
in two main sectors in any economy. Many
operate in a ‘business-to-business’ environment
whereby they deal with other business, both
large and small. The essence of such business
relates closely to the SME strengths discussed
above, in that it allows SMEs to utilize network-
ing amongst a relatively close-knit and familiar
environment and to exploit experiential knowl-
edge of an industry or market. A second major