10 in 10: A Decade of Top Observations in B2SB Marketing®

1. Move the heart to move the mind: Small business owners [SBOs] are one of the most emotional buying groups in both B2C and B2B. To them, everything is personal, so marketers wanting to engage and motivate them need to get them to feel if they want to get them to act.
2. Not all SBOs are entrepreneurs or want to be: Cargo has uncovered and identified two very distinct mindsets of SBOs: Artisans and Crusaders. Each mindset showcases the differing DNA, drivers and behaviors of SBOs in North America. Artisans have an art, skill or craft that that turned into a business – they are about changing “their” world. Crusaders are what we all think as entrepreneurs – constantly looking forward and focused on the next big thing that will change “the” world.
3. Find them using observable traits; connect and motivate them by using unobservable traits: Using traditional demographics like business size, industry, geography and SBO age and gender are great for finding SBOs. But the underlying drivers, values and behaviors of SBOs are what is needed for messaging and storytelling if brands want to engage and motivate SBOs.

4. Think horizontal vs. vertical when marketing: Brand resources (time, people and budgets) aren’t deep enough to find and engage the over 1100 industry types that make up small businesses in North America. That’s why brands need to think horizontally, using mindsets and common drivers that transcend traditional industry verticals.

5. Talk to me, don’t sell to me: In a variety of Cargo research studies, the #1 frustration SBOs have with marketers and brands is that they don’t take the time or effort to understand them – they just want to sell to them. Since everything to SBOs is personal, this lazy approach is a core reason why small businesses feel big brands are ineffective in their marketing.

6. Mindsets affect how SBOs shop, buy and consume content: We explored how the Crusader and Artisan mindsets affect an SBO’s information and purchase journey. Crusaders behave like sharks, always moving, yet selectively consuming, while Artisans act like sheep, always consuming, but selective in their movements.

7. SMBs’ [small-to-medium-sized businesses] decision making changes as SMBs grow: Like mindsets, the lifecycle stage and size of an SMB directly affects an SBO’s decision making process and involvement. As an SMB goes from start-up, to growth and to maturity, the SBO invites more influencers and begins to relinquish their control into business decision making.

8. Price isn’t the issue – value for the money is: The common belief that price is the main trigger to get SMBs and SBOs to buy is not true. SBOs don’t the buy cheapest, they buy the best they can afford. “The best they can afford” is built from a combination of real and perceived value.

9. Most brands don’t get it: SBOs consistently express their dissatisfaction (and distrust) with brand marketers’ abilities and attempts to sell and market to them. On average, over 50% of SBOs feel big brands and marketers are ineffective in engaging and marketing to them. Which means either 1 in 2 brands are failing or 50% of every brand’s marketing spend is wasted.

10. It’s all about to change: Cargo anticipates that many of these key observations will change or evolve over the next 10 years. Millennials, the fastest growing segment of SBOs, think, act and behave differently than most of their predecessors. With this in mind, Cargo is kicking off the next decade with a proprietary, AI-driven study that will lend insight to better understand and solve the Millennial SBO riddle.

ABOUT CARGO

Cargo is a new-model marketing and advertising agency that specializes in helping big brands connect with Small Businesses, otherwise known as B2SB Marketing®. The agency was established in 2006 and has offices in Greenville, S.C., and Toronto, Ontario to service the North American market. Cargo’s client brands include 3M, Daimler, Detroit Reman, Lenovo, Mercedes-Benz, Pitney Bowes, and Royal Bank of Canada. For more information visit http://www.thecargoagency.com.