15 Experts Share Their Best Practices for Marketing to Small Businesses
We asked 15 experts how to market to small business owners. Their marketing disciplines covered social media, content marketing, SEM, SEO, video marketing and business development. They provided insights on the following questions:
- How can you appeal to the unique buying motivations of small businesses?
- How do you effectively target small businesses without scaring away larger firms?
- Which channel approaches are best for connecting with small businesses?
How to Appeal to Buying Motivations
Target time savers
Small businesses are often resource-strapped. While that can sound like code for “no money,” it’s time that’s really the bandit. If you focus on solutions that save them time, you’ll motivate them. John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing
Understand the stakes
Small business owners aren’t working for a paycheck. They’re working for their lives. The lines between business and life are thinner than anywhere else. Successfully marketing to small business takes that into account–in your content, in your messaging, and in your product strategy. Running a small business is both exciting and terrifying. It’s an entirely different mindset. Take that approach and you’ll immediately differentiate yourself. @" Matt Heinz, Heinz Marketing
Focus on business sustainability
The motivation for small businesses is about sustainability. Staying in business is a key driver. No matter how successful they may be, there is a sense of vulnerability. Thus, small business owners will look at how a purchase decision will affect a business as a whole. Tony Zambito, TonyZambito.com
Don’t overrate the differences
I actually don’t think small business motivations are that unique. Sure, small businesses may not have as much money as a large company, but their buying motivations are the same as any sized company. We all want to grow our organizations, add value, and develop relationships with our customers. Gini Dietrich, Arment Dietrich
Offer proven winners
The motivations for small businesses comes down to getting the most from each and every one of their dollars. Small businesses don’t have the advertising and marketing budgets, when compared to big time retailers or chain businesses. With that said, small businesses don’t have time to experiment with multiple marketing avenues. Alexandra Jacopetti, RocketPost
Respect personal money
Small business owners are much closer to their bottom line than the executives at larger companies. Most of the time, that bottom line is also directly correlated with a small business owner’s personal income. It’s important to understand that profitability and efficiency have a much stronger emotional connection with a small business owner than someone who just has annual goals of reaching numbers for the company. Todd Giannattasio, Tresnic Media
Justify the value of out of pocket expenditures
With most small businesses I deal with I’m speaking directly to the owner. That means the “company” money is money coming directly out of his or her pocket. While that usually requires me to work a bit harder to justify the value of our fee and services, it also lets me appeal to them as a fellow small business owner who can empathize with small business challenges. John Follis, Big Idea Video
How To Effectively Target Small Businesses
Let the numbers talk
Numbers always speak louder than words. Larger firms need to be confident they aren’t getting the same work at twice the price point so you need to be transparent in showing them the differences. It wouldn’t hurt to show them a case study for your smaller clients as compared to a bigger client. If you’re trying to serve small businesses and larger firms you need to have a diverse offering with obvious differences between your your price points and compelling explanations for the value behind all of them. Mike Bal, Single Grain
Focus on results; avoid small business language
We now steer clear of all “small business” language and instead focus on results that small, medium and large business decision makers all value. Any size business needs to establish credibility and build brand recognition through an effective tactical marketing plan. It’s important to focus on industry niches instead of size. Jeremy Durant, Bop Design
Use landing pages to focus messaging
Talking to everyone is like talking to no one, you have to be specific in order to capture the right audience. Use landing pages wisely. Create one page that speaks directly to larger firms. Create another that focuses on small business owners. Neither group wants to wade through information in order to “kind of” figure out what will help them. Just send your audience to the right place on your website and start speaking their language. You do have to target, but your website strategy can give you options in how to do it. Jamillah Warner, JamillahWarner.com
Avoid one-size fits all approaches
It’s funny, many of our clients are some of the largest corporations in the world. They are actively pursuing customers who are SMB organizations–they never ask themselves this question or are concerned with it. If we are to be successful in selling to any organization, we have to make sure we are relevant and can create value for those organizations. We become “pigeon hole” if we apply a “one size fits all,” approach in our marketing and sales activities. Dave Brock, Partners in Excellence
Which Channel Approaches Are Best for Connecting With Small Businesses?
Offer online demos, trials, pricing, reviews, and testimonials
Online is by far the best way to reach small business buyers. Focus on your website. Show pricing options where possible. Provide demos or trials, and make it easy for to find customer reviews or testimonials. For complex solutions, you will want to work with a channel partner who can do some of the work for your small business customer and help them make the right choice. Adele Revella, Buying Persona Institute
Optimize your web presence
Bigger business are more likely to use referrals and networking to source vendors. Small business are more likely to go straight to the web to start the research process. So to reach small businesses, content marketing is critical. Start by following best practices for lead gen websites, then plan your content strategy starting with topics and frequency. The company that creates the most content and enthusiasm around a topic will win the attention of that audience. Andy Crestodina, Orbit Media
Leverage pull marketing
The best channels to connect with small companies are pull marketing based. Pull marketing makes yourself visible to prospects when they are already looking for what you are selling. Examples include your website, social media and public relations. Content marketing is also crucial because it shortens the sales cycle and helps you compete effectively against larger competitors. Instead of pushing your offer at them, you allow prospects to self-discover and self-qualify. Christopher Ryan, Fusion Marketing Partners
Syndicate relevant, niche content and seek speaking opportunities
Leveraging the syndication of relevant, niche publications and authoring expert, thought leadership-type content is a great way to get in front of small businesses and generate services leads. Speaking opportunities are also a great lead channel. If you can’t crack the conference circuit, you can sign up to speak at local meetups (again, positioning yourself as a thought leader/topic expert) to reach SMBs. Ken Lyons, Cornerstone Content
