The Art of the Possible: 5 Lesser-Known Ways to Boost SMB Revenue with Content

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Your content can do more than just drive customer engagement.

Of course your B2SMB content should help attract and engage prospects and customers, but it can do so much more. It can help you expand your market(s), evolve your marketing and selling approaches to match changing SMB buying behavior, and deepen customer relationships after the initial purchase.

Here are 5 often-overlooked ways in which content can help you drive revenue from SMBs.

1. Targeting a new customer segment
   

   We are speaking with a large SaaS provider that has a mature product and wants to target verticals beyond its traditional customer base. One way to accomplish this is with content that connects the business outcomes those verticals are seeking with their company’s product benefits. Another way is with customer stories that show how the product can be successfully used in the new segment.

2. Evolving from transactional to relationship selling
   

   At last, companies are learning that relationship-driven sales approaches can have a huge impact on customer lifetime value (CLV). By providing content for your salespeople to share with prospects and customers, and training them on how to use it, you can change the dialogue from “Buy now” to “We’re here to help.” This helps build trust and lead to more sales, both today and tomorrow. 

3. Supporting a buying process involving multiple decision-makers

   One of the biggest challenges for B2B salespeople today is the number of stakeholders involved in most buying decisions. CEB says that 6 or more people are now involved in the average B2B purchase decision. They come from diverse roles and parts of the organization, and most don’t have direct contact with salespeople. Content that speaks to the different roles of these influencers can help educate and build trust among these hidden decision-makers.

4. Increasing partner revenue

   Too many companies are arming their partners with conventional marketing assets that focus on product features and benefits, with “Buy now” messaging. This is poorly aligned with today’s B2SMB journey, where most prospects aren’t ready to buy today—their journey begins with a search for ideas and solutions to business challenges (not for a specific product or service). Arm them with content that educates and changes the buyer’s point of view (POV), and you will set yourself and your partners up for greater success.

5. Improving retention and cross-sell revenue

   Lifecycle content—content targeted toward existing customers and focused on what happens after the sale—can help retain and deepen customer retention and maximize cross-sell opportunities. It can also help increase product usage and overall satisfaction with the customer experience, leading customers to become loyal advocates for your brand.  

Great content can help you differentiate your brand and your products from your competition. In our last post, we made the point that brands are no longer competing based just on their products or services. They’re competing in the content game, too. Brands that not only produce great content, but also use it in every possible way, will win.

Do you want to get more results from your content? Set up a call with me and I’ll show you how.

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