The third episode in our series on SME branding had Mr. Nick Crawford- Founder / CEO, Work Networks (London); Ms. Laura M. Sutherland - Founder, Aura PR (Scotland) as panelists. Mr. Karnvir Mundrey, Founder & Chief Ideation Officer, Atharva Marcom moderated the discussion.

Ms. Sutherland gave an overview of SME community in UK and Scotland. She explained how covid has changed business scenario in UK and Scotland. Discussion on brand reputations and defamation laws also happened. She stated that a proper crisis communication plan should be in place. Organizations should also maintain a risk register that includes, operations, people, processes which will help SMEs take instant action in the times of crisis. She shared her experiences with clients where she uses social media and email marketing to keep customers engaged throughout and not just during an activity.  Ms. Sutherland also stressed the importance of managing human capital.

Mr. Crawford too gave an overview on SMEs and said that they have higher capability to be agile than larger organizations. People should be at the heart of branding and be more involved in forming the mission, vision and values of an organization. He explained how his organization have been working closely with FB to help clients like WHO and English national opera etc. widen their reach, improve intra organizational communication etc. He explained the advantage of using ‘Workplace by Facebook’ and how it brings together coworkers, helping them share information and projects with each other in a secure and customized virtual environment.

The session was attended by participants from different industries. The forum provided them the opportunity to share their queries with the panelists.