The five common small- and medium-sized business (SMBs) marketing questions and concerns were covered by LSA Insider during last week’s webinars conducted by leaders at Marquette group.

At the webinar, Marquette Group discussed what they are hearing from SMBs. Chris Malone, VP of agency partnerships and sales strategy, and Gary Richmond, VP of digital strategy and client services, both work directly with SMBs daily and shared the top digital marketing concerns they hear from clients, according to LSA Insider.

The five SMB questions explored were:

  • How do I get my business listed in the first position on Google?
  • Where should I spend my marketing budget?
  • Why am I unable to view my ad when I search for it?
  • If I do view my ad, how many calls will a top position bring me?
  • What’s the point of having a local landing page if I already have a website?

LSA Insider points out that, according to the group, the most common goals and so-called “pain points,” which both cross over into what the groups want and need from a third party, include the following:

Goals:

  • To bring new consumers to the SMB’s office to drive sales
  • To drive as many leads as possible for the smallest cost
  • To obtain the highest return on investment (ROI) possible; more so via calls than by clicks
  • To find a Lexus on a Ford Taurus budget
  • To focus more heavily on selling high value products and services
  • To appear on Google’s first page, no matter what

Pain Points:

  • SMBs budgets are consumed with other marketing ventures
  • SMBs are unable to keep up with digital marketing
  • SMBs are reluctant to change
  • SMBs say that digital is difficult, expensive, and challenging to track
  • SMBs need more education material
  • SMBs seek to deliver as quickly as possible when consumers are conducting an online search

With the local economy improving and with the use of the Internet increasing, digital marketing for SMBs is now a necessity, notes LSA Insider. Ad and media sales reps, though, face challenges with the “misalignment” being seen between what SMBs spend on marketing and their expectations from those efforts.

SMBs have turned to education as a way in which to overcome their weaknesses. They are attending webinars, reading blog posts, and using other free resources to obtain basic answers to common questions. This leaves open a space in which representatives may be able to better educate clients and set realistic expectations.

Source:

Morsello, Joe. Local Search Association Insider;  5 Common SMB Marketing Questions & Concerns; October 12, 2015.