While most of the focus these days is on social media, small businesses should not overlook the role email marketing can play as part of an integrated digital marketing strategy. The Effective email marketing for SMEs event, held on Friday 24 February from 12:30 will cover the do’s and don’ts of email marketing and some of the more advanced features of the medium.

You’ll hear from Rechenda Smith, Head of Email Marketing, little green plane. Rechenda heads up the email marketing function at little green plane, the email marketing division of Itineris, a multi-award winning digital marketing agency based in Suffolk and central London.

Prices start from just £10 and the event is worth 1 hour of CPD. Find out more and book today.

When times are tough and budgets are cut, small business can struggle. Or thrive. It’s down to you which, and we’ve put together a list of helpful tips and resources that might help you on your way.

• 10 Minute Guides from the CIM
• Small business start up advice from Business Link.
• 10 Powerful marketing tips from about.com
• Small business tips from businessknowhow.com
• Business start-up resources from Marketing Minefield.
• How to market your small firm from the BBC.

Small Business MIG

If you run or work in a small business or SME, why not join the Institute’s Small Business Market Interest Group to keep up to date. They have a whole host of resources available including top tips, business profiles and a free newsletter. They also run events throughout the year. The next one is Marketing excellence for small businesses on 22 July in Holborn. To join, contact Dena Peace.

Here’s the last in the series of the Small Business Market Interest Group events.

PR workshop, small business marketing from Mark Ganellin on Vimeo.

Impressive PR, presented by Gabrielle of Gabrielle Shaw Communications, highlights the importance to small businesses of producing creative communications campaigns that ‘punch above their weight.’ To compete amongst the larger corporates, small businesses need to deliver a memorable consumer experience, and this video will show you how.

Here’s the second in a series of three of the Small Business Market Interest Group events.

Changing from product to service marketing, presented by Liz Love, MD of Z-Card, reveals the importance of marketing to small business to drive awareness and sales opportunities.

Changing from product to service marketing strategy, small business marketing from Mark Ganellin on Vimeo.

Focusing on pocket-media specialists Z-Card, you’ll see how a simple idea created an internationally successful small business.

Small Business Marketing, presented by Mark Batchelor will demonstrate how a marketer in a small business with a small budget, doesn’t have to mean small thinking.

Small Business marketing from Mark Ganellin on Vimeo.

Although small businesses can have the challenge of smaller budgets, you’ll see how they are open to a huge wealth of opportunities in the market place, and have key benefits above bigger corporates. You’ll learn how with digital developments and the popularity of smart technologies, small businesses are finding they can communicate and react a lot quicker to comments from social media forums, as they can’t hide behind corporate red tape.

Steve Revill

Do you work in or run an SME? Do you run a business which has SMEs as clients? Do you feel the CIM in Greater London currently does enough to support you and/or your SME clients?

The CIM has a Market Interest Group (MIG) specifically aimed at serving the needs of SMEs. The Small Business Group (SBG) exists to raise the level of marketing knowledge, skills and expertise in the SME sector. You can find a brief overview of the goals here: cim-small-business-group2

As GLR regional Champion for the SBG, I want to get some dialogue going, as I’m in the process of pulling together an activity plan for 2009/2010. What kinds of support do think we should be offering to SMEs in London? In what ways can you help me to deliver this?

Answers on a post please…