Marketing knowledge and strategy for SMEs: Can they live without it?

The literature has for more than two decades warned of operational, organizational, dysfunctional, market and managerial barriers hindering the marketing activities and plans of small companies. Small firms typically possess certain characteristics, which serve to differentiate them from larger organizations. These characteristics include inherent weaknesses with respect to capitalization and marketing awareness and practice. Many observed problems stemmed from businesses failing to practice marketing or produce marketing strategy and plans. High failure rates of small firms are largely attributed to weaknesses in financial management and marketing. Many classical management concepts are unsuitable for application in a small firm context, with research suggesting non-implementation of theoretically based marketing practice is the rule rather than the exception in the small firm. This paper reviews issues pertaining to marketing practice of strategy and planning in the small firm, acknowledges inherent weaknesses with regard to marketing in small firms, reviews marketing practice in the context of small firm characteristics, and considers the roles of owner/managers in improving small firm’s marketing practice