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SMB Advertising: Trust is key
By Scott Greenberg | October 10, 2007
Pete Christothoulou mentioned in his most recent LocalPoint post that the distance between local online advertisers and online advertising is quickly shrinking. I couldn’t agree with him more, but I believe there is still a long way to go. And the SMB’s need someone they can trust to get them there.
For the past 3+ years I have been watching the ranks of SMB’s advertising online grow. I have watched the start-ups and the incumbents take different strategies in selling and acquiring SMB’s. Some have been more successful than others. I believe the key to winning the SMB’s online advertising dollar is Trust.
For the typical SMB, I will make the assumption that sifting through and understanding the offline opportunities is simpler than the online opportunities. SEO, SEM, Paid Listings, Guaranteed Clicks, Budget Based: These concepts in online advertising are all new to most SMBs.
The SMB owner is presented with many opportunities to buy both online and offline local media. They are called on in-person and over the phone. They are presented with offline opportunities and online opportunities. This involves tens of thousands of sales people calling millions of advertisers, tapping into small individual budgets.
How does a SMB know what to do and who to trust? The idea of a “trusted local marketing representative” will become increasingly important to close the gap between local advertisers and online advertising spend.
Trust can be easily acquired and easily lost. I believe that the local sales forces that already have relationships and penetration into the local market are positioned to take on the role of the trusted local marketing representative. Leveraging the trust they already have with the SMB will allow them to successfully cross sell online advertising opportunities. The key to success for incumbent sales forces to keep that trust with the SMB will be a depth of product knowledge, the ability to clearly and concisely communicate value, and provide timely reports to prove the value of the products they are selling.
Topics: Local Advertisers, Advertising |
October 15th, 2007 at 8:56 am
This face-to-face trust issue is what most SEMs don’t get and what every IYP relies on.
I think both groups (SEM’s and IYP’s)need to learn more about how the other operates and move towards a middle ground. In this way, the small business owners will be best served and whoever can demonstrate measurable ROI will also gain trust.