Insights about small business customers from a Fortune 10 Big company product marketing manager now working as a small business SEO/SEM/lead generation marketing consultant.
All (established) small businesses work with marketing consultants in a very predictable pattern of:
1. “I need a website”
2. “I need traffic to my website”
3. “I need to convert that traffic into sales”
Small business is local. The Inc 500 companies don’t get that. They talk about “small business” and SMB like it’s one huge market they can go after with a mass marketing program. They need local roots and connections for anything to work.
Lots of small businesses spend money on search advertising and then are frustrated that the money didn’t convert into paying customers/clients.
Most successful small businesses can’t or won’t set up a database and CRM system themselves. And they really shouldn’t do it themselves – they’ll make more money doing what they are in business for, not figuring out a CRM software system and how to set up a marketing campaign to generate leads.
The successful businesses – and there are plenty of them – want to find someone they can pay (and trust) to configure it for them. They want it set up and working.
Compared to big companies, small businesses aren’t very good at project management and really appreciate someone setting out a roadmap of step 1, step 2, step 3 for them once things are set up. They’re willing to pay for strategic advice and set-up for marketing services.”
Get more insights about small business customers and how to target your marketing to be most relevant to them.
Small business owner who doesn’t want to do marketing yourself?
