SMB Marketing Ideas to Attract More Customers in a Competitive Market

What percentage of small businesses (those with 50 or fewer employees) worry about economic unpredictability? Our B2B BuyerSCAN survey reveals the answer is 28%. There’s little question that most businesses are feeling economic pressure, but SMBs need all the help they can get. If you aim to improve SMB marketing outcomes, show your clients where to advertise and how to find their audiences.

How are businesses facing their challenges?

With economic uncertainty and competition increasing, businesses want to protect their market share. A National Small Business Association report published in March indicates that 51% of SMBs will address their challenges by increasing their advertising and marketing expenditures this year.

This survey, based on feedback from 430 SMB owners, also finds that 46% are doing somewhat or much worse compared to last year. And 52% believe the economy is somewhat or much worse. At the same time, only 18% of SMBs have increased their workforce.

Another survey, the 2026 Small Business Happiness Report by Vistaprint, found that the same percentage of SMBs, 51%, will put their money into marketing, specifically, customer acquisition this year. And 24% strongly agree that their marketing approach is helping them reach customers.

What is the consumer sentiment about advertising?

The solution for SMBs seems clear. But does their target audience want to see more ads? Over 80% of consumers feel overwhelmed by the number of ads they see, reports Gartner. And over 50% take active measures to reduce the ads coming at them. They block ads or pay for ad-free streaming TV services.

SMB owners understand the challenges they face with respect to advertising. The 950 business owners who participated in the LegalZoom survey published recently reported the following:

• 49% believed that finding customers would be their biggest challenges.
• 34% felt that marketing – specifically, being visible, would pose the biggest challenge.

And 19% of the SMBs in the Vistaprint survey said one of the key challenges they face is in building/creating their brand.

How can your accounts respond to negative consumer attitudes?

The goal to improve SMB marketing outcomes means your accounts should be more intentional about the media formats they use and how they use them.

A Constant Contact survey reveals that 68% of SMBs “expect social media (both organic posting and paid ads) to be their most valuable channel, with email marketing following as the second most valuable at 41%.”

But traditional advertising has a role too. 26% believe that channel will “drive the most value.”

As they try to connect with target audiences, remind your accounts that consumers will be more receptive to some types of messaging. They should offer “positive and educational experiences” according to Gartner research.

What is the role of AI in SMB Marketing?

To level the playing field against larger competitors, SMBs are turning to AI. Vistaprint data shows that generative AI helps these businesses develop content (51%) and automate repetitive tasks (60%). If your accounts are struggling with how to use AI, offer to help them with the transition.

How to target the right audiences

Every small business account should study which media formats generate the most activity from their target audiences. With AudienceSCAN, powered by AdMall, your accounts don’t have to wonder. Here’s what they can learn.

Your home siding contractor account may be convinced that they should use social media ads. AudienceSCAN data shows that nearly 54% of their audience took action after seeing a social ad. Remind your accounts that around the same percentage also took action after seeing a streaming TV ad.

To get the most from their marketing budget, your accounts should be present in both channels, with similar messaging. And because finding new customers is a huge challenge for SMBs, they must allocate enough budget to make multiple touches with prospects.

To optimize their SMB marketing results, your accounts should develop customized messaging to reach their business or professional audience. 

For example, consumers planning to hire an accountant show the highest response rate to paid search advertising in the past month (43%).

If your accounting services clients also want to target business decision-makers, they should place paid ads on social media, where 55% of this audience has taken action in the past month, according to B2B BuyerSCAN survey data.

SMBs don’t expect general economic conditions to improve soon. But there is some good news. Let them know that nearly 60% of U.S. adults prefer to shop at small, independently owned businesses in the latest AudienceSCAN survey. When your smaller accounts commit to improving their SMB marketing with your help, they’ll see results.

Image by Ivan S on Pexels.