Selling to Small Businesses

Back when I wrote the Selling to Small Business column for BNET.com, one of my articles was about how “entrepreneur” could be a dirty word in certain parts of the world, especially Europe. 
Here in the United States we associate “entrepreneur” with startups and innovators — outsiders who buck the existing business establishment. To us the word [...]

Experian, the credit reporting agency, conducted a study of the small business market, dividing it up according to incorporated businesses and unincorporated businesses.  The study covered 1.2 million small businesses with no more than 25 employees and $10 million in sales.
The picture it painted was of business owners being wealthier than the general population.  Business owners are [...]

A business owner whose company serves other small businesses (RV and recreational equipment dealers) once said to me that his small business customers, “… are like water.  They follow the easiest path.”  
What he meant was that small businesses go with whatever offering makes it easiest on them. Now, he did not mean this in a condescending way.  He simply accepted it [...]

The current U.S. economic expansion has been going strong for several years.  But indications suggest that the economic growth is slowing down. 
Small business owners apparently feel much the same way — that things are slowing down (not stopping or declining, just not growing as fast).  
This is reflected in the NFIB’s Small Business Economic Trends report [...]

Here’s an interesting tidbit that deserves some exploration.  eWeek Channel Insider reports on a Gartner study of the SMB market:
Service and support trump price for small and midsize businesses. Seventy-three percent of SMBs rated the service and support they received from their technology providers as the most important factor in a buying decision, according to [...]

Articles defining “influencers” are not too hard to find.  However, it is the rare article that gives actionable advice about how to create a dialogue with influencers.  
A recent article by Nilofer Merchant at MarketingProfs.com is one of those rarities.  Five Ways to Develop a Dialogue With Key Influencers offers insights into how to develop a communication program with influencers [...]