Any proven methods for B2B marketing to small business?
Hi everyone! My family and I have a small brick-and-mortar consignment store. It's been around since the 60s, very old school, we don't even have a website.
Maybe a bit of an unusual mix, but I'm also a software developer. So I started developing a tool for us to price what we sell accurately, using listings online from websites like Vestiaire and so on. One thing led to another and it turned into a whole app that I decided to publish.
I'm part of a lot of Facebook groups and I feel like I know my customer quite well. Pretty much I'm targeting other consignment stores like ours, so very traditional and offline, managed by a one or two person team, usually women from 40 to 70, not on LinkedIn, don't read emails, mostly on Facebook and Instagram in a very casual way. I found a couple of people on Facebook to try it out and it's been going quite well, they're enjoying the app and find it useful.
Now I've been trying to figure out how to market it more efficiently. For my own store I feel like I've never received effective cold outreach that peaked my interest bc they completely misunderstand what my shop does or what kind of tools I really need. (For example, I don't need an ERP bc it's just me and my parents running the shop with handwritten notes and Excel; I don't need a marketing consultant bc again we're too small and can barely keep up with demand as it is; we don't need an SEO expert bc we don't have a website, etc. etc.) The approach of these cold outreach emails like "Quick question" + 1 or 2 lines with a Calendly link is so generic and salesy that I just don't bother to read them (plus when are we gonna find the time for a "quick call" when we're literally at the shop all day).
So with all of this said, I really don't think that typical B2B SaaS strategies I see online would really work for potential clients of my app. At the same time, I've also seen a lot of advice on how to market consumer apps with social media, but here again, my customers are not fast paced trend chasers.
What I started doing so far is writing a blog with tips for resellers and creating social media content around it (where I analyze secondhand trends, pop culture, give advice on how to price effectively). I'm also trying to develop personal relationships within those Facebook groups I mentioned and communicate via direct messages. But it all feels super DIY and I feel like I'm reinventing the wheel in some way. Bc for sure more effective methods should exist, right? I'm not the only person marketing to small businesses, surely! But all advice and methods I've seen so far really come off as out of touch and too separated from the reality of small business.
To other business owners selling to business owners, what methods have you tried and what has worked for you so far? Does automated outreach work? Any YouTube channels you can recommend about how to reach the kind of customer I'm targeting?
Thank you so much for your feedback and advice!