Rebecca Muir, Quantcast, marketing manager, product marketing lead, shares her views on how real-time programmatic display advertising can help reshape the UK economy, as the Government looks towards small-to-medium size businesses (SMB) to help reinvigorate the economy.

The government is looking to SMBs to help pull the economy out of recession. In the words of Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy UK Prime Minister: “Today’s small business is tomorrow’s big business”.

A key part of growing a business requires skills and investment in many areas, including advertising. SMBs contribute 40% to the total UK GDP, but only account for 18% of total UK ad spend, and there has to be a reason why such a lag exists.

However, when you consider that a recent report from the Advertising Association and Deloitte found that advertising returns are estimated to be eight times more beneficial for an SMB than for a larger firm, it’s difficult to understand why.

A fledgling business cannot rely solely on free traffic from natural search. Search results pages are teeming with big brands in every sector, and even if you can get your business’s page to rank for a high-volume generic term, consumers are far more likely to click on a link from a brand they recognise rather than an unknown brand.

Therefore, a small business is unlikely to see a significant boost in traffic from natural search. You could invest in paid search; however, the cost per click (CPC) for high-volume terms is expensive, and again, you’ll be competing with big brands – with big budgets – so the volume of clicks you’re likely to get is small.

Similarly, premium display inventory has been the privileged domain of big brands and media agencies due to the fact that all too often, a contract or long-term trade agreement has been necessary.

However, this does not have to be the case. SMBs should be embracing real-time programmatic display advertising because it offers an unparalleled chance to reach new customers through prospecting and retargeting.

Prospecting involves developing an understanding of a business’s high-value existing customers and then matching them to the web-wide population, delivering targeted ads to increase brand awareness.

Retargeting uses technology that observes behaviours specific to consumers in the context of their total journey, from initial website visit to purchase.

Tailored ads are delivered based on relevancy and perceived purchase intent to influence potential customers all the way through their path to conversion.

Retargeting is very cost-efficient, as it directs advertising spend toward consumers who have already shown some level of interest in your brand, products or services.

Publishers, media agencies and advertising technologies tend to focus on securing big brand budget, and the SMB is often left to go it alone, which hardly seems fair. We’ve put together a best practice guide to help SMBs embrace programmatic display advertising.