In early March, SMBs across the country probably felt like the sky was falling. While we certainly have record unemployment levels and deficit spending by the federal government, business conditions may not be as bad as they seem.

A recent Verizon Business survey finds that 68% of SMBs believe they have a good chance of recovering from the setback. The even better news is that nearly half, 46%, of SMB owners don’t think they’ll need to lay off their staff.

Adapting Operating Models to New Business Conditions

However, SMB owners realize that they need to adjust to new business conditions. Prior to the pandemic, digital commerce had been gradually increasing its share of business transactions. During the COVID-​19 outbreak, consumers have been growing accustomed to online shopping and home delivery. For some consumers, this format is all about convenience. For shoppers in high-​risk health-​related categories, shopping from home may be a long-​term trend. At least 42% of businesses say they want help expanding and optimizing their e‑commerce operations.

Emphasizing Digital Marketing

Part of that optimization will be all about digital marketing. As we mentioned last week, SMBs are looking for ways to expand digital outreach. To stay within their budgets, they’re using social media and email to communicate with prospects. Because your clients aren’t necessarily experts on digital marketing, they’re turning to freelancers and outside agencies for help. If you haven’t worked with a specific SMB before, the new business conditions could be the perfect opening for you to increase your digital marketing services sales.

In our Selling to SMBs survey, conducted before the pandemic started, at least 26% of small business owners noted that they planned to purchase digital marketing in the next year. That percentage has likely increased in the past few months.

You can get ahead of the competition by running a Digital Audit on prospects. The tool, available on AdMall from SalesFuel, will allow you to show your prospects where they stand in the digital advertising ecosystem.