Volvo has decided it needs to get closer to small business and is using its dealer network and the Daily Telegraph to do so.

As a brand, with quality and quirkiness as key cornerstones, Volvo lends itself well to SMEs where entrepreneurial owners are more likely to favour something outside of the mainstream when it comes to their fleet car. Whatever else, Volvo has always been a prudent choice among discerning fleet and retail customers with its balance of safety, practicality and those dependable whole-life costs.

The Volvo move involves a marketing campaign which will give the brand a high profile within the Daily Telegraph with a series of sponsored Spotlight on Business pages focusing on firms on the up and interviews with top performing SMEs.

This is all part of a new Volvo strategy aimed at boosting its share of business in small SME fleets, an area many car manufacturers are targeting for growth as the UK gradually pulls out of recession.

'The SME audience represents a massive opportunity. As such we need to be innovative in our approach, positioning Volvo as expert in small business advice,' says Kay Saunders, Volvo's campaigns manager for business sales.

'It’s important for Volvo to be present in the SME market because it is a market still experiencing growth.

'We have specifically concentrated our marketing activity in order to engage with SME owners and demonstrate the offering and support that Volvo can offer them in their everyday business operations. We look forward to working with these smaller businesses.'

Central to the success of the programme will be the role played by Volvo's dealers in delivering SME friendly services. In readiness last year the brand launched a Business Sales Academy to encourage dealers to develop and build relationships with small business customers. Since then hundreds of Volvo staff have successfully completed the Business Sales Consultant course to equip them with the specialist knowledge needed to help SME customers make informed decisions.

Dealers with specialist business centres will be promoted on the Daily Telegraph's online hub and have been tasked with finding local SME success stories to be profiled in the newspaper: clearly a promotional win-win for both dealer and customer. The hub will also act as a lead generator.

The initiative should certainly help refocus Volvo's attention on the specific wants and needs of the local business community; many of whom will already be known to its dealers but may be in need of some dedicated time and special attention.

Indeed the scheme makes a virtue out of many car dealerships also being local SMEs rather than members of big regional or national groups.

'Our dealers always look to build relationships with local businesses and continue to look after them once the cars are bought. We’re encouraging dealers to focus on the local SME community to help show business sales aren’t about leasing companies, but real businesses on their doorstep facing the same challenges and successes as a dealership would,' says Saunders.

What Volvo is doing is not particularly new or innovative. It's more a question of going back to basics and making sure it does them well. As car brands grow their fleet sales the focus can sometimes shift away from the importance of SMEs while chasing the volumes offered by the national blue chips. Volvo's move is a timely reminder that big is not always best.