Marketing Profs

Stop me if you've had this conversation before with a small-business owner:

You: "So that's a broad overview of what we do. We can definitely help you out with whatever you might need in the email marketing space."

Them: "Well... how much do you cost?"

You: "It really depends on what you use us for, whether it's software, creative or something else. Do you have a budget set aside for this type of thing?"

Them: "Not really."

You: "OK. How much money do you invest in marketing?"

Them: "We don't really have any money set aside for that."

You: "Oh."

"You" are the email marketing person. You've made your pitch, given the 10,000-foot view of your assortment of services, and provided a cost-effective and much more financially sensible way to spend marketing dollars. "They" are the small business owner (SBO), who either has no idea about what email marketing is all about or has only a rudimentary knowledge. They have heard of email and figure they should be doing something, but they're not sure where to start.

For email marketers, how to deal with the SBO is an ongoing challenge. I always try to be optimistic in the early stages of these talks, since it takes a lot of small pebbles to fit around the giant rocks in the sales bottle I'm trying to fill. You never know when the person on the other end of the line has the next big idea that will catch fire and, as a result, create a fanbase of information-seeking consumers.

Obstacles

In my experience, there are three main obstacles to introducing email marketing to a small business.

1. Budget

No matter who you're dealing with, the question of cost will always be a factor. Every dollar counts when it comes to a small business, from pens to water to benefits to that arcade game you buy from the pizza shop going out of business. So the SBO often worries about the expense before the benefits.