
Boosting SMBs’ Response to Marketing Communications
Small businesses are overwhelmed by marketing messages today and ignore most of the communications from marketers. How can you break through? I recently attended the CEB Small Business Summit, and here are some of the top insights from the event, along with my comments:
1.
Stop the madness. Build audiences to succeed with the SMB market. #M2SBSummit
2.
Common sense email tips to connect with SMBs. #M2SBSummit
Here are some more. http://ow.ly/MmgJ30klBN5
3.
No question that targeted and segmented communications are a must to engage SMBs. #M2SBSummit
One of the many tips we cover in our guide http://www.rslmedia.com/accelerate
Common sense.
So why don’t most #B2SMB brands not do this? #M2SBSummit
5.
It’s true. #smallbusiness owners only change when necessary. Interestingly many #B2SMB brands are slow to change too and are at risk for being complacent. #M2SBSummit
This, of course, makes sense. But instead of bombarding #smallbusiness with offers on cross-sell items, it is much better to educate/help them. You will build trust and sell more. #M2SBSummit
7.
Do this well and watch LTV explode. We are talking mind-blowing P/E ratios. #M2SBSummit
8.
It is really critical to incorporate the last two together. It won’t work otherwise. #M2SBSummit
9.
Commercial insights are a great way to generate demand. #M2SBSummit
Bringing all this together, here are 3 additional takeaways for B2SMB marketers:
- Extra effort in marketing to SMBs pays off big time. A good example is segmentation. SMBs come in all shapes and sizes and generic messages are meaningless to them. Your SMB customers want to know that you know who they are.
- It is critical that you speak to your SMB customers in a voice they can relate to – a voice that shows that you appreciate the challenges they face. Customer stories (not case studies!) are a 3x win.
- The same rules that your mother told you about talking with people need to be used in your messaging to SMBs. Be personable, focused, polite and direct.