What’s an SMB?

I have had quite a few people ask me what an SMB is. When I am asked I try not to act surprised because the term SMB defines about 95% of the businesses in the United States!

SMB is an abbreviation for small and medium size business or small / medium business. The definition usually refers to the amount of employees a company has. Companies having under 100 employees are considered small businesses while companies with 101-1000 employees are considered to be mid-size or medium businesses. So much attention is paid to large companies because of their presence in the market place but it can be argued that the SMB market is truly what runs the economic engine in the US.

Whether you are an SMB or you provide services to the market there are unique needs for these businesses across the board. Many do not have the infrastructure to have specific people doing specific business functions all the time. In other words, there are people in the SMB market who wear many hats and are required to know many disciplines in order to meet the day to day needs of the business.

In no other area is the need for expertise in the SMB space more apparent than in marketing. Many small business owners have great ideas about products and services to offer consumers and businesses but their expertise stops there. Getting their message to their target market is a frustrating experience because of the myriad of options available including magazines, direct mail, newspapers, radio ads, Yellow Pages etc., etc. Even those larger companies often fall into the ‘it’s what we always do’ form of advertising that often ends up in wasting valuable time, money and human capital. Even worse, most companies can’t even show what results can be tied directly to their marketing efforts. That is a recipe for disaster and in this economic climate that is simply not acceptable.

Enter the internet. For the SMB there has been an impression that internet marketing is reserved for only those with the largest budgets and biggest staffs. That’s simply not true. In fact, internet marketing which includes search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click advertising (PPC), blog marketing, social media / networking and online reputation monitoring is where the greatest opportunity exists for these businesses. There are no other marketing vehicles that are as measurable as internet marketing. The accountability of these marketing options is unequaled as compared to the traditional advertising and marketing campaigns that have been run in the past. Internet marketing and the SMB are perfect for each other because of less money spent, high accountability and relatively low cost for entry.

To learn how to capitalize on the wide variety online marketing opportunities that can be utilized by any small / medium business call me, Frank Reed, at 919-746-7027. You will be amazed at how internet marketing can transform your business at a time when it is more important than ever. You can also contact me by e-mail at freed@frankthinking.com . What are you waiting for?