What Impact means for SMEs
Impact is important - but SMEs shouldn't be defining it based on corporate frameworks that don't suit them. This blog is about how to make impact relevant for your business.
Where corporate impact shows up.
Say “Impact” in a corporate boardroom you're usually talking one of two things...
‘ESG’ (Environmental, Social Governance) - think carbon footprints, board diversity & all the other stuff they do (or say they do) so a report looks right to investors.
Business Impact Analysis - think disruption planning, risk registers & what else corporates do to measure the effects of curveballs like server outages, supply chain issues or high profile scandals.
Both are important but, in terms of definitions, application, measurement & management, neither was built with an SME in mind. The problem with this is that Impact really does matter - but only when it’s real &, critically, only when it’s relevant.
It’s YOUR impact - so own it.
In the corporate world, "Impact" is part of mainstream management, compliance & regulatory frameworks. It's seen as a pre-defined obligation. This isn't the case for SMEs.
There are some SMEs for whom their environmental footprint or community impact genuinely is central to their very existence. It's their reason for being.
For others, it's a compliance line item at best.. If they've got an Impact framework, it's only because it cropped up in a client tender or an industry award submission & a flurry of work followed because it sounded important - but not because anyone actually checked whether it was relevant. Then, after the tender or submission went in, nothing else happened with it. Quel surprise!
It’s not that anyone wants to have a negative impact on society or the planet - business owners are usually doing the best they can & have every intention to try to do more. It’s simply that other priorities are higher up the to-do list - marketing the business, keeping customers happy, paying salaries, covering costs, trying to turn a decent profit.
But, the problem with trying to adopt a version of ‘Impact’ that isn’t relevant to your specific business is that acting on it stops at intent. That's why SMEs need to look at Impact in a whole new light...
How Rock defines “Impact”…
In our 4-Foundations Framework, Rock defines Impact as “the difference you make & how you measure it”. It's a fundamental pillar of your credibility.
Whether you make that difference for your customers, your markets, your communities or the wider world is up to you. That's why, when we talk to a business about Impact, we might ask about:
The mark left on your market - the standard you’ve raised, the practice you’ve changed, the thing competitors now do because you did it first.
Environmental footprint - the way you approach energy & fuel consumption, waste disposal, procurement of materials etc.
Team care - how you treat your staff, what benefits & opportunities you offer them
Community engagement - the local suppliers you choose or charities you support, the apprenticeships you fund, the high street you help keep alive.
Customer benefit - the specific, tangible difference made to the businesses who buy from you (which you should be clear on regardless of anything else on this list!)
It’s an open question, not a pre-filled form. And we won’t force you to pick just one & hang your credibility hat on it - because none of these cancel each other out.
You might not thought about Impact in this way before - but that’s ok. Rock's out to challenge broken mainstream strategy models so taking a different tack is no bad thing.
Why the definition matters
Opening up the definition of Impact isn’t just semantics (although - if you know Rock - you’ll know we love to interrogate a label before we let it near a strategy!). It’s the difference between dancing to someone else’s tune vs building evidence for what actually makes your business credible.
But, just because we've opened it up, doesn't mean we've made it weaker. Impact isn't about wooly idealistic statements ("transforming lives" "making the world a better place" etc.). It's about making a specific measurable difference.
Done properly, impact metrics prove that the business does what it says, that it's not just about marketing slogans or having something nice to say at a networking event.
But, before you can measure something, you need to know WHAT you’re measuring & HOW. That’s why a clear, relevant definition matters.
What measurement looks like
That said, opening up the idea of Impact is really quite liberating as it opens up the idea of measurement too.
With measurement metrics, the most important thing to remember is - don’t over-reach. You're better off picking 2 or 3 things that you can measure easily & consistently, than setting a load of idealistic standards you’ll never stick to.
Depending on what Impact looks like for you, you might look at:
Customer benefit - customer feedback surveys (inc NPS/CSAT*) retention rate, referral rate. (*Useful, but not infallible — NPS & CSAT get gamed constantly across every industry)
Environmental footprint - carbon footprint (Scope 1 & 2 is a sensible starting point for most SMEs), waste-to-landfill %, energy use per unit of output.
Community engagement - % of spend with local suppliers, volunteering hours or results (number of trees planted or families receiving donations), charitable contribution value.
Team care - salary benchmarks, hours of training completed, apprenticeships funded, DEI stats
Mark left on the market - harder to put a number on by nature, but evidence could come from things like industry recognition, press citing you as the standard-setter, or competitors copying what you did first.
None of these matter in isolation. What matters is picking metrics that actually reflect your definition of Impact - then tracking them consistently enough to use as real evidence.
Why Rock’s way works:
Firstly, we don’t arrive with a checklist that says “here’s what Impact means, tell us your score.” We ask what impact actually means to this business, in this market, for these customers & we help build the measurement around your answer, not around someone else’s template. That means you end up with a concept of credibility that people inside your business can actually relate to & run with.
Secondly, our joined up approach means Impact is embedded as one of the four core strategic pillars that every part of the business is required to build on. So, Sales & Marketing shouldn’t be making any major claims that Impact can’t evidence. HR should be including Impact within the onboarding, training & performance reviews of appropriate staff members. Finance should be allowing a line that recognises the cost of measuring Impact (& it’s importance).
All to help align every part of your business around what really matters - making a difference & making it count.
Need a hand exploring Impact for your business?
Drop us a dm - info@rock.partners - or book a GRIT Session
Rely On Rock
Rock.Partners are trusted management partners for SMEs wanting to build stronger businesses & brands.
What we do: We act as an extension of your management team, providing complete support, from strategy to delivery, across your whole business...
First, we define your strategic foundations - Direction, Connection, Impact, Value.
Then, we align your whole business around them - Commercials, Creative, Culture.
How we work: Our flexible, client-led delivery model meets you where you're at.
We offer both Managed or Guided service levels, depending on how hands-on or -off you want us to be.
We can work with your in-house team, complement existing partners or plug any gaps with specialist partners from our own networks.
We scale every scope & solution to suit each clients size, stage, sector & circumstances.
From business strategy to brand identity, sales support to culture building...if you want a management partner you can rely on, one who'll help you to build a rock-solid business & isn't afraid to rock boats (or mix metaphors!), you've found it. Finally!
Rock.Partners - Strategic support that works for SMEs - Joined-up. Client-led. Rock-solid.
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