Marketing spending is decreasing, customer base is increasing – what is the secret to the success of SMEs?

Among SMEs, personal connections and recommendations have proven to be the most common and successful methods, as 56 percent of them primarily base their customer acquisition strategy on these. This approach not only builds trust with customers, but also helps businesses reach new customers and form long-term partnerships in a sustainable and effective way.

While the proportion of online and offline advertising has decreased, other options have come to the fore: collaboration with 27 percent, social media with 17 percent, and promotions and promotions with 15 percent continue to play a decisive role in expanding the customer base. These channels emphasize creative collaboration and experience-based communication, which strengthens the social and business networks of the SME sector.

The old focus remains: the value of existing customers is invaluable

Although businesses are increasingly active in acquiring new customers, most still place great emphasis on nurturing existing relationships. According to the research, customer retention is a key strategic goal for four out of ten companies, which is one of the main indicators of conscious, long-term thinking, while another 51 percent believe that retaining existing customers is at least as important as expanding the customer base.

“Hungarian small and medium-sized companies build on stable foundations: they value existing customer relationships and plan the future based on trust and loyalty. Strengthening personal relationships is not only effective, but also cost-effective, so more resources can be left for innovation and development. The K&H: do business here! collaboration application and the business breakfasts also support this approach, as their goal is for SMEs to strengthen their business community through inspiring examples, shared thinking and relationship building”

– emphasized Zoltán Rammacher, K&H retail and SME segment marketing head.

According to the results of the research, customer acquisition activity increased mainly in the service sector, in Central Hungary, and among companies with sales between 20 and 100 million forints compared to the previous year. This shows that these companies are particularly focused on the dynamism of the market and are open to exploiting new opportunities.

“Companies open to growth are typically found where the market is developing dynamically and the companies are operating on stable foundations. This is especially true of the service sector, where acquiring new customers can quickly bring tangible results. We at K&H are pleased to see that more and more SMEs are building on a conscious, relationship-focused strategy that supports the development of the Hungarian economy as a whole in the long term”

– added the expert.