the Bredin Report
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Subscribe | September 2007
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Persuading SMBs Through Thought Leadership

A thought leadership program is the set of advisory programs you offer to demonstrate your understanding of the SMB pain points relevant to your products and services. The goal of a thought leadership program is to boost awareness and sales by demonstrating your advocacy of, and relevance to, SMBs. An effective thought leadership program complements your other messaging to position you as the "owner" of a key issue or benefit in the purchase decision-making process for your offerings.

As you're building your thought leadership program, consider these issues:
  What do you stand for? Thought leadership must align with your brand. For example, HP tries to stay a step ahead in owning how SMBs use imaging products by continually empowering them with design advice, ideas and community resources.
  What is your message? Don't mix thought leadership with more promotional marketing; it is not advertising. Your goal is to educate your audience on the topic at hand; too promotional a message undermines a thought leadership program by making it appear self-serving.
  Which media will you use? SMBs turn to key formats for advisory information. For example, our March study found that SMBs want advisory content in email newsletters; they also rely on articles, interactive tools, white papers, research reports, blogs and Webcasts.
  Who are your thought leaders? Thought leaders don't have to come from within your company. Use content from established industry experts such as authors, analysts and academics, ideally under an exclusive relationship to differentiate your program. Don't forget your own customers, who may have terrific lessons to share with your site visitors.
 
 
     
     
 
SMB Market News

>> WSJ Relaunches Small Business Site

With a new name and new content, The Wall Street Journal has revamped its small business website. The former StartupJournal site is now WSJ.com/Entrepreneur and contains relevant articles and columns from the print and online versions, as well as a new Q&A column, online videos and podcasts. Content is now organized via a series of tabbed sections including financing, running a business, technology and building awareness. The site remains free. MasterCard is the launch sponsor, with ads from Microsoft and Dell.


>> OPEN Unveils Trade Terms Card

At the Inc. 500 conference last week, American Express OPEN introduced the Plum Card, which allows small businesses to make payments along traditional trade terms. Businesses that pay in full within 10 days of the billing cycle date receive a discount of up to 2%. Alternatively, they can defer payment up to two months, without accruing interest, by paying 10% of the balance by a set date. It is targeted at small businesses with high materials costs and variable cash flow such as construction companies, retailers, wholesalers, IT solution providers and the automobile after market.

>> HP Targets SMBs in Print 2.0 Campaign

HP's new $300 million Print 2.0 campaign contains a range of elements targeted specifically at SMBs. The Burton for Your Business microsite gives SMBs tools to build their brand from Burton Snowboards founder Jake Burton, while another site offers collateral templates designed by graphic artist Paula Scher. HP also established a wiki-based small business print community to enable customers to collaborate on print projects, share ideas and access tips and "how-to" information.


>> Inc. to Create Social Network

Inc. will shortly launch IncBizNet, a social network for private companies that will allow members to connect with other entrepreneurs in the same industry or region. All companies listed in the Inc. 5000 (its annual list of the fastest growing private companies) will become charter members, and any other U.S.-based private company can join. Members will be able to use the network to post company information (backgrounders, press releases, marketing material) and create blogs.


>> CompUSA Segments SMB Seminar Series

CompUSA is offering a series of monthly "Put Technology to Work" seminars to help educate small business customers. Separate live events will be held at in-store training centers for small (<19 employees) and medium (20-100 employees) businesses. Topics include mobility, licensing and disaster preparedness.

>> Companies Offer SMB Disaster Planning Initiatives

To help smaller companies prepare for the hurricane season and other emergency situations, several SMB marketers have rolled out initiatives focusing on disaster planning. Capital One published a disaster preparedness checklist and guidelines. Office Depot, as part of a hurricane preparedness educational campaign, started a contest in May, awarding three South Florida companies a $5,000 gift card and an on-site consultation with a business continuity expert.


>> Best Buy Adjusts to Reach More Businesses

With businesses making up as much as 10% of its store traffic, Best Buy is refining the way it supports them. Beginning in August, it started identifying business-grade products with a "Professional Series" label on retail shelves and in-store signage at all its U.S. stores. Specially trained employees will work with business customers both in-store and, in select markets, outside the store as an independent consultant might.


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Client Spotlight

Influencing Your Influencers

How do you develop relationships with key "centers of influence" to acquire new customers? For a major software company, we recently conducted a qualitative assessment of the partnership potential of a key category of purchase influencers. We conducted in-depth interviews to gain insight into their attitudes towards partnering, their ability to influence SMBs, and their partnership program preferences. Contact us to discuss how we can help you create an effective – or enhance an existing – influencer program.

BBI In The News

BBI Presents at Florida DMA Conference

CEO Stu Richards will present on what's working (and what isn't) in marketing to SMBs via Web 2.0 at the Florida DMA's annual Marketing Summit in Ft. Lauderdale on September 20.


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BBI helps Fortune 500 and emerging companies achieve their SMB marketing goals through research, strategy and communications. Contact us to learn how we can help you.

 
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