Although our business focuses on precision micromechanics and electromechanics, there are several cross-functional activities that are simply too important to ignore. One of these is marketing.
Unfortunately, many Italian SMEs still view marketing—especially digital marketing—as something optional. An extra activity to pursue “if there’s time,” or “when sales are going well.” Before wishing everyone a pleasant summer break, I would like to share a few thoughts on this very topic.
Let me start with an anecdote—one that was almost surreal.
Some time ago, I received a commercial proposal from a publishing company. Among the figures used to promote its email marketing campaigns and sponsored content was a mailing list of 100,000 contacts with an email open rate of 47.5%.
Those numbers alone should already raise a few questions. But the real doubts emerge when they are compared with the publisher’s website traffic, which amounted to roughly 1,300 visits per month. If approximately 47,000 people are genuinely opening a newsletter—assuming only one newsletter is sent each month—doesn’t 1,300 website visits seem surprisingly low?
And another question naturally follows:
What is the basis for these figures? Are they generated by certified analytics systems? Can they actually be verified?
Without transparent reporting—which is often missing—or genuinely reliable performance metrics, even the most impressive-looking statistics can easily inspire unwarranted confidence. Those without the expertise to interpret them may never notice these inconsistencies and may end up approving the investment anyway.
This is precisely the issue.
Every year, many SMEs invest substantial budgets in digital initiatives without fully understanding where the money goes or what return they receive, simply because they are not sufficiently prepared to evaluate them.
And often they are not prepared because digital marketing is still perceived as a secondary business function—certainly not as important as finance, production, or sales.
In many companies, there are no professionals with dedicated marketing expertise. As a result, decisions are often made by people whose experience lies elsewhere—typically CEOs or sales managers—based on intuition, persuasive sales pitches, or polished presentations rather than objective analysis.
The consequence is predictable.
Poor investment decisions are made.
Then, after months without tangible results, companies draw quick conclusions: “Digital marketing doesn’t work in B2B.” Or, even worse: “It isn’t useful for SMEs.”
Nothing could be further from the truth.
So, what is the solution?
As is often the case, the simplest answer is also the most realistic: Education and awareness.
Digital marketing can be an extremely valuable asset for an SME. But it must be approached with the same seriousness and discipline applied to every other business process.
It requires expertise.
It requires methodology.
And, above all, it requires the understanding that digital marketing is not simply another channel to activate because someone presents what appears to be an attractive commercial opportunity.
It should be considered an integral part of the company’s overall business strategy from the very beginning, with clearly defined objectives, appropriate resources, and the awareness that meaningful results require time, expertise, consistency, and long-term commitment.
If I were to offer one piece of advice before investing in new campaigns or digital tools, it would be this:
The most important investment is not technological—it is cultural.
Take it one step at a time, but always move in the right direction.
Have a wonderful summer!
