Business Owners Are All the Same... Where it Really Counts

Granted, the small business market is sizable and complex, and the individuals who own those companies are just as diverse. As marketers, we are constantly challenged by the diversity of the segment when developing and executing effective, scalable and sustainable strategies and tactics to build a profitable bridge to it (see "Building Sales Relationships: The Media Dilemma,"). And, far too often, because of the perceived complexity of the channel, enterprise-level marketers seeking to penetrate it fall back on institutionally “safe,” conventional communications approaches (i.e., traditional mass marketing and advertising).

More similarities than differences
If Shiela, a 25-year-old female coffee shop owner from Seattle, were to meet Bill, a 56-year-old auto parts manufacturer from Bloomfield, Illinois, they would relate to each other at a very different level than anyone who has never owned a business ever would.

The fact is that, regardless of industry, number of employees, rate of growth or location, all small business owners share two critical traits in common:

• a lack of resources (there is never enough time, money or management expertise) and
• all small business owners are at risk.

In terms of resources, a small business is, by definition, one that is not fully managed—there is no VP of Sales, no Marketing Director or Human Resources Officer. As a result, the owner, typically a generalist, must manage each and every function in the business; closing a sale at one moment, buying a desktop for a new employee in the next. And the list goes on.

In a small business,time becomes the ultimate currency. The severity of resource scarcity is what drives the extraordinary productivity found in small companies everywhere. The lack of capital and management expertise that larger, fully managed companies enjoy creates a common bond that Sandy and Bill share at an instinctive level, and they know it. That common bond dictates how both of them act at a very fundamental level—even though they have very different kinds of businesses.

Regarding risk,it’s the most galvanizing characteristic of all small business owners. It
requires that every decision be made through a prism of avoiding,or at the very least managing, risk.

For enterprise-level marketers, clearly understanding these two critical points of commonality and effectively communicating that understanding, persistently and consistently, to the market should always form the foundation of any scalable, sustainable marketing communications strategy.

Every communication—every “touch”—from big companies going after small companies should pass a small business litmus test: Does the voice of your communication implicitly or explicitly provide sound management advice, or save time or money. Is it designed to lower a small business owner’s state of risk? Does it
truly add value for the recipient?

Knowing what all small business owners share in common offers a powerful platform for selling into this market.But these owners have the most sensitive “spin detectors”of any segment you can serve.Customer communications that pass the small business litmus test will spark a relationship founded in trust; one that will keep your brand front-of-mind when it comes to buying your products and services.