IN the third of 3 posts today on the topic of recession branding for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), we look at 10 ways in which design practitioners can help themselves help SMEs.

1. Strengthen your business skills with ongoing training. Seek out professional development courses and workshops, especially on marketing and consumer research.

2. Differentiate yourself by specializing in a particular design discipline or type of project. Be sure that it’s a service for which there will be continued strong demand.

3. Zone in on client categories. Research market trends to identify specific areas of growth and opportunity.

4. Concentrate on developing a consultative approach to selling. You’re providing a customized professional service that’s ideas-based and focused on innovation. Clients must not get confused and think you’re offering some type of commodity at low unit prices.

5. Strive to develop ongoing relationships. Simply completing one-off projects is not enough. Long-term, mutually beneficial relationships can enable your design firm and the client organization to grow and prosper together.

6. Understand the issues faced by SMEs and speak their language, not yours. This way you’ll partner more effectively with SME clients.

7. Qualify prospects early to see if they've worked with another agency like yours before. Don't be the first.

8. Don't work with SMEs who are spending their own money. Work with someone who has budget authority over money that's someone else's.

9. Instead of showing pretty pictures of your work, talk about your thought leadership (in words, not images).

10. Rely more heavily on intentional referrals between SMEs, since they seem to listen more to each other.

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