In the digital marketing space, success lies in connecting with the right audience with personalized strategies. However, one of the fundamental challenges faced by B2SMB organizations is identifying and reaching out to potential customers. For salespeople focused on selling digital marketing products and services to small, local, and mid-sized businesses, building an effective SMB prospecting list is of central importance. So, let us discover the ins and outs of constructing a targeted SMB prospecting list, along with a set of actionable insights and strategies to enhance your sales efforts.
Understanding the SMB Market: Defining SMB and B2SMB
Before delving into the strategies, it’s essential to grasp the terminologies. SMB, an abbreviation for small to mid-sized businesses, encompasses a diverse range of enterprises, including local businesses, which also tend to be small businesses. B2SMB, or business-to-small business, signifies companies targeting the SMB sector, and B2B, or business-to-business, simply means companies selling to other companies, regardless of size. Knowing these terms sets the foundation for successful prospecting.
Key Steps to Build an SMB Prospecting List
1. Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
To effectively target SMBs, start by defining your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Identify characteristics, such as industry, company size, location, and pain points. This step lays the groundwork for a highly personalized approach.
2. Leverage Digital Marketing Sales Techniques
Utilize proven digital marketing sales techniques, like pay-per-click, impression-based display ads, etc., to connect with SMBs. Craft compelling content tailored to their needs and pain points. SEO-optimized blog posts, informative videos, and engaging social media campaigns can attract the attention of potential clients.
Drive people to your website and encourage them to enter an email address through joining a newsletter or downloading useful content. These email addresses go into your CRM and are the basis for your prospecting list.
3. Implement Localized SEO Strategies
Optimize your website and blog posts for the types of products and services your Ideal Customer Profile searches for and which you have an offering to meet them with. Next, meet with your customers and ask them about the sort of articles and blog posts they seek when trying to solve a problem—this can help guide you on what to write about.
Use tools like Google Search Console to see what keywords people are using to find your website, and expand on this to make a wider list of keywords you can create content for. You can use Google Trends or alike to gain a better understanding of what people are searching for generally and how those terms relate to your offerings.
It’s also helpful to use your social media presence to promote and distribute pages from your website and your blog posts to draw people back to your website. Again, create clear offers of value on your website—helpful content to download, a newsletter to subscribe to, etc.—that invite your prospects to enter an email, their name, and a phone number. This is how you build your prospecting list.
4. Use B2SMB Platforms and Directories
Explore B2SMB platforms that connect businesses catering to SMBs. These platforms provide a targeted space to showcase your digital marketing solutions. Networking on B2SMB platforms can lead to valuable partnerships and collaborations.
Many of these platforms have local business databases or directories that you can explore to identify SMBs that appear to match your ICP. Some of these platforms can integrate directly into your sales tools, like a CRM, to immediately transfer the data to your selling database.
5. Make Use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools
Implement CRM tools, such as Salesforce, Pipedrive, Hubspot, or Zendesk Sell, among others, to streamline your efforts; coalesce all your prospect data, and segment into lists. These tools help organize and manage customer data, track interactions, and prioritize leads. By maintaining a detailed record of SMB interactions, you can tailor your approach for maximum impact.
6. Develop Highly Personalized Outreach
Quality personalization is the cornerstone of successful SMB prospecting. Craft personalized emails, messages, and outreach campaigns based on your ICP. Address specific pain points and offer tailored solutions to showcase your commitment to meeting their unique needs. And while digital outreach is important, don’t underestimate the power of personalized postcards, mailers, or door-hangers delivered straight to your target businesses. And if you can, make some in-person visits to your target businesses to have a highly personalized conversation with your prospects.
7. Use Data Analytics
Employ data analytics to gain insights into SMB behavior and preferences. Analyzing customer data allows you to refine your approach, identify trends, and optimize your prospecting efforts for better results. Leverage free tools, such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console, to help understand your website traffic. Your social media platforms will also have analytics reports on your traffic, and cross-platform social media management platforms extend and expand on this.
8. Participate in Local Business Gatherings
Engage with the local business community by attending events, conferences, and networking gatherings. Establishing a physical presence allows you to build relationships with potential SMB clients and gain a deeper understanding of local business needs. Collect business cards from all of the people that you meet at these events, and enter them in your CRM immediately after the event.
When you belong to the realm of digital marketing sales, you must bear in mind that success hinges on understanding and effectively targeting the small, local, and mid-sized business market. By following these key steps and incorporating personalized strategies, salespeople can build a robust SMB prospecting list. So, stay informed, adapt to industry changes, and keep refining your approach to ensure sustained success in selling digital marketing products and services to the SMB sector.
