At ILM 2014: Yodle’s Court Cunningham Dissects the SMB Opportunity

Court Cunningham has as good a handle as anyone on what makes small-business advertisers tick. As CEO of Yodle, Cunningham’s daily challenge is figuring out how to optimally sell digital marketing solution to SMBs. It’s a vexing problem that has challenged some of the best minds in local search.

In his wide ranging keynote presentation last week at BIA/Kelsey’s Leading in Local: Interactive Local Media conference in San Francisco, Cunningham shared his observations and what does and doesn’t work when going to market in the SMB space.

On Marketing Automation: Most SMBs do not have the budget for the big solutions (e.g., Marketo). Marketing automation comes in to solve that problem. Increasingly, success is being measured by revenue. Marketing automation will eventually be integrated into payments.

On DIY v. DIWM v. DIFM: SMBs need help. Among “Plus Spenders” (SMB advertisers in BIA/Kelsey’s Local Commerce Monitor survey spending more than $25,000 annually), 70 percent say they want assistance. “People will pay with their time or with their money,” Cunningham said. “The low end of market pays with its time.” Most of the dollars are in the “Plus” area, and those businesses are willing to pay for DIFM and DIWM solutions.

On CRM for SMBs: Marketing to existing customers is the most efficient way to sell. To do it, you need more data than just an email address. High impact CRM requires integration into vertically focused systems (e.g., automotive, etc.). The divide between acquisition and retention marketing is quickly blurring. Many activities now involve both.