I'm very excited for the future of small and medium businesses across all verticals and sectors. The sophisticated tools and services that drive Fortune XXX companies are reaching down to smaller enterprises (thanks in part to tech startups) and as a result SMBs are becoming an increasingly powerful force in our economy. SMBs have more leverage now more than ever.
As SMBs everywhere develop, businesses who sell their products and services to other business will have to think harder about their sales and marketing strategies because SMBs don't operate like Big Cos. In a way, marketing to SMBs is one of the hardest fields you can play on. Unless you have the capital to fund a gigantic sales team or comprehensive ad campaign, your product and product marketing will have to speak for itself. You have to be strategic with your approach.
This presents interesting marketing opportunities. In big companies, new tech and product adoption is forced. The end users are typically totally disconnected to the sales process where cost, features, and utility are necessary parts of the multi level conversations. But in SMBs, the end user is likely no further than 1 degree away from the owner/operator and key decision maker…the user might even be the key decision maker himself. So the cost, features, and utility of your product are always on trial by the key decision maker or his agent every time it is used. In SMBs your product has to be good otherwise it will be eliminated, quickly.
Your value prop and key marketing messages need to reflect this relationship. If your end user is an employee, your messaging should show how your tech will make his job better. If your end user is an owner/operator or his agent, your messaging should show how your tech will make his life better.
I suppose relating your product to the to the most profound context should always be the marketer's imperative, but you can only take an employee's responsibility so far. When marketing to SMBs remember who the operator is and talk to him directly. Make their life better.
Postscript
1. If you like economics, geopolitics and have a big chunk of time you should read A Brief History of the Corporation by Venkatesh Rao. It is brilliant. This is what first got me thinking about the role of SMBs in our future economy, and how we can seize to the opportunity it brings.
2. I've been working on this particular post for a couple days and just earlier today Seth Godin published his thoughts on B2B selling. It's not very similar to my what I have above, but just wanted to let you folks know that I am aware of it, and am not writing on this topic only because he is. F*ck it! We'll do it live!
image credit
As SMBs everywhere develop, businesses who sell their products and services to other business will have to think harder about their sales and marketing strategies because SMBs don't operate like Big Cos. In a way, marketing to SMBs is one of the hardest fields you can play on. Unless you have the capital to fund a gigantic sales team or comprehensive ad campaign, your product and product marketing will have to speak for itself. You have to be strategic with your approach.
This presents interesting marketing opportunities. In big companies, new tech and product adoption is forced. The end users are typically totally disconnected to the sales process where cost, features, and utility are necessary parts of the multi level conversations. But in SMBs, the end user is likely no further than 1 degree away from the owner/operator and key decision maker…the user might even be the key decision maker himself. So the cost, features, and utility of your product are always on trial by the key decision maker or his agent every time it is used. In SMBs your product has to be good otherwise it will be eliminated, quickly.
Your value prop and key marketing messages need to reflect this relationship. If your end user is an employee, your messaging should show how your tech will make his job better. If your end user is an owner/operator or his agent, your messaging should show how your tech will make his life better.
I suppose relating your product to the to the most profound context should always be the marketer's imperative, but you can only take an employee's responsibility so far. When marketing to SMBs remember who the operator is and talk to him directly. Make their life better.
Postscript
1. If you like economics, geopolitics and have a big chunk of time you should read A Brief History of the Corporation by Venkatesh Rao. It is brilliant. This is what first got me thinking about the role of SMBs in our future economy, and how we can seize to the opportunity it brings.
2. I've been working on this particular post for a couple days and just earlier today Seth Godin published his thoughts on B2B selling. It's not very similar to my what I have above, but just wanted to let you folks know that I am aware of it, and am not writing on this topic only because he is. F*ck it! We'll do it live!
image credit
