SMB’s, the Internet, Search Marketing and Survival

Well, it’s pretty hard to ignore what’s been taking place in the economy as of late. I am usually the person who talks about how the SMB market (particularly those that are toward the smaller end of the spectrum) can almost take a “business as usual” approach regardless of the larger macroeconomic concerns. The reality is that no matter how everything is going business still has to be done and it has to be done well. In most cases, when things turn for the worse it’s the more aggressive and well prepared businesses that can weather the storm and even get stronger during downturns.

Welcome to September 2008. The last few days have seen a change in the economic landscape that is unequaled in my lifetime. The savings and loan crisis of the 80’s was scary but for some reason that seems like it could be small potatoes as compared to the apparently epic meltdown we face currently. Now, to be fair, we all should have seen this coming. When everyone who can fog a mirror could get a loan for more house than they could afford for such a long period of time something has to give. That whole scenario was a house of cards built on a foundation of sand in the path of a Category 5 hurricane if you get my drift.

So what’s the SMB owner to do? According to an article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday morning many have already been focusing their efforts online even before this all happened. I suspect that this trend will only get more intense and here’s why. No matter how bad the economy eventually gets people will still need goods and services. How they acquire them will require less physical, face to face, get out of the house shopping so they can conserve their cash by not buying as much gas etc, etc. This will be just as true, if not more, in the B to B space. Businesses will do less face to face relationship building to conserve valuable cash by cutting down to those things that produce results only.

Honestly, while the short term outlook is bleak (and if you believe the new look Wall Street – err – New York Post – err – Journal pretty much the end of the world as we know it) this will be a very good thing in the long run. We are in the purging section of our binge and purge way of gathering wealth and doing business here in the US. As an SMB owner myself, I am actually excited by the opportunities that are being presented by this leaner and meaner approach to business in general. No longer will SMB’s be able to deny how they market themselves and continue to literally throw money away at thing like the Yellow Pages and other proven marketing losers. The smart ones will now look at their business more strategically. For another angle on this take a look at the post I did over at Mike Moran’s Biznology blog.

Hey, I am trying got be an optimist here for sure. What other choice is there? I am a search marketing expert that believes I have a good solution for the small and medium business owner to get their business to those who need it in the most efficient and cost effective manner possible. Nowhere else is a potential client crying out in a loud voice “I need someone to do this work for me and I am asking this search engine to give me the best possible answer!”

If nothing else, Mr. SMB owner / operator this is your final boarding call. If you decide to stick your head in the sand on this one you might as well keep digging for another 6 feet and just bury your business. This one will not afford you the luxury of “riding the storm out”. If you decide to pull everything in to wait for this one to pass you are like the people who ignore evacuation notices during major storms then wonder how they got hurt (if they are lucky enough to survive). While you may want to have sympathy for those folks you gotta wonder why they checked their common sense at the door.

If you allow your small business to become a statistic during these short (maybe even long) term changes then more than likely it will be your fault. It’s time to act. While you are searching for your answer people are still searching for your business. Do you even want to be found?

SMB Takeaway: Yes, times are rough. Be a winner and do the right thing to weather the storm (like targeted efficient marketing programs like search marketing). Don’t play the blame game.

Thanks and have a great day!