Which content formats –­ and other sources of information ­– do SMBs rely on most for awareness, research and decision-making when they are considering business purchases? What do SMBs look for in content from vendors like you? What kinds of content do they specifically want from your sales team? To find out, we surveyed over 500 SMB principals on their content preferences at each stage of the sales cycle. We shared the results in a thirty-minute Fastcast recorded on Thursday, May 24. The full recording is available here: https://bit.ly/2GLTx5j Where we covered: • Where SMBs first learn of new products and services • What channels and formats are most useful in the research and purchase stage • The role of vendors throughout the SMB buying cycle • How and when they use vendor websites • What traits of content are most important • How they want to interact with vendors before buying – and after • How all of this differs by company size, age, growth outlook, and more

1. MOVING SMBS THROUGH THE SALES
CYCLE WITH CONTENT
May 24, 2018

2. 2
INCREASING SALES TO SMBS
ORIGINAL RESEARCH  CUSTOM CONTENT

3. • Qualitative
• Live focus groups
• Online bulletin boards
• Collaborative workshops
• In-depth interviews
• Quantitative
• Custom online
• SMB Pulse omnibus
• New SMB HR, IT, Finance
and Marketing Pulses
Methods
ORIGINAL RESEARCH  CUSTOM CONTENT
• Ad, message, positioning
testing
• Attitudes and usage
• Brand awareness / perception
• Buyer identification
• Competitive perceptions
• Customer satisfaction / loyalty
• Market segmentation
• Media behaviors / preferences
• New product testing
• Persona / buyer journey
• Purchase intent, behaviors,
channels and preferences
Topics
3
INCREASING SALES TO SMBS
Internal: Actionable product /
marketing insight
External: PR / social / content /
events / collateral
OutputsOutputs

4. 4
INCREASING SALES TO SMBS
ORIGINAL RESEARCH  CUSTOM CONTENT
Video
Email
Newsletters
Checklists /
WorksheetsCase StudiesArticles Blog Posts
White Papers
Podcasts
eBooks
PR Surveys
Social Media
Handbooks /
Guides
Webcasts
Slideshows
Infographics
Interactive
Tools
• Persona / buyer journey
• Formats, topics and
outlets
• Peer data
• Creative brief
• Editorial calendar
• Distribution plan
• Content audit
• Content creation
• Analytics
Contribution
• Expert
• Actionable
• Relevant
• Easy to understand
• Professional
• Brand-building
• Custom
Principles
Search  Lead Gen  Nurture  Conversion  Retention

5. Help marketers better understand SMB content preferences
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
Content that works best at each stage of the sales cycle
Content attributes
Content for sales support
5

6. METHODOLOGY
6
1
2
3
HOW
WHO
WHEN
Online survey via the Bredin.com/SMBPulse
503 principals of U.S. companies with <500 employees (4% +/- CI)
January 16-19, 2018
Representative mix of industries, business ages, locations etc.
251 VSBs
<20 employees
(97.7% weighting)
151 SBs
20-99 employees
(2% weighting)
101 MBs
100-500 employees
(0.3% weighting)

7. NEW PRODUCT AWARENESS INFORMATION SOURCES
7
In aggregate, SMBs are most likely to learn about your offerings from you
In general, where would you say you first learn about new products and services for your business? (Please rank from most
likely / important to least likely / important)
n=499
% rated top-two box
5%
11%
12%
15%
15%
17%
18%
28%
37%
38%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
TV / radio / billboards
My external team – e.g., my accountant, attorney or local
technology consultant / reseller
Analysts like Forrester or Gartner
My internal team – e.g., my IT manager, financial
manager, HR manager, etc.
Online forum / discussion board
Social media
In a store
Business news media / review sites / blogs
Peers / colleagues / other business owners
Direct from vendors – e.g., email, websites, trade shows,
sales call from representative, etc.

8. NEW PRODUCT AWARENESS SOURCES: COMPANY SIZE
8
MBs are most likely to first learn about a product from analysts
In general, where would you say you first learn about new products and services for your business? (Please rank from most
likely / important (top) to least likely / important)
n=498
% rated top-two box
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
TV / radio / billboards
My external team – e.g., my accountant, attorney or
local technology consultant / reseller
Analysts like Forrester or Gartner
My internal team – e.g., my IT manager, financial
manager, HR manager, etc.
Online forum / discussion board
Social media
In a store
Business news media / review sites / blogs
Peers / colleagues / other business owners
Direct from vendors – e.g., email, websites, trade
shows, sales call from representative, etc.
VSB (<20)
SB (20-99)
MB (100-500)
Women are more likely than
men (42% to 31%) to learn
from peers & colleagues.
Men are more likely (45% to
34%) to learn from vendors.
Businesses less than 4 years
old, or older than 20, are
most likely to learn in a store.

9. Baby Boomers are most likely to rely on their peers
In general, where would you say you first learn about new products and services for your business? (Please rank from most
likely / important (top) to least likely / important)
n=499
% rated top-two box 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
TV / radio / billboards
My external team – e.g., my accountant, attorney or local
technology consultant / reseller
Analysts like Forrester or Gartner
My internal team – e.g., my IT manager, financial
manager, HR manager, etc.
Online forum / discussion board
Social media
In a store
Business news media / review sites / blogs
Peers / colleagues / other business owners
Direct from vendors – e.g., email, websites, trade shows,
sales call from representative, etc.
18-34
35-49
50+
NEW PRODUCT AWARENESS SOURCES: RESPONDENT AGE
9

10. NEW PRODUCT AWARENESS: DETAIL
Overall, peers are the most important source of new product information
On a scale of 1 (very unlikely) to 3 (very likely), please rate how likely you are to first learn about products or services for
your business via each of these specific sources / content formats.
n=503
% rated very likely 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Case study
Audio podcast
One-off email
Radio
Pinterest
Infographic
White paper
Press release
eBook / guide / handbook
Outdoor billboard or signage
Twitter
LinkedIn
Blog
Instagram
Banner / display ad
Research report
Analyst report
External / third-party consultant
Interactive tool
Webinar / webcast
Print newsletter
TV
Forum or discussion board
Video on vendor’s website
Newspaper / magazine (print or online)
YouTube
Postcard, letter or catalog in the mail
Facebook
Email newsletter
Online review
Call or meeting with vendor sales representative
Resources section of a vendor’s website
Product section of vendor’s website
In-house staff
Event or trade show
Peer / colleague
10

11. NEW PRODUCT AWARENESS: COMPANY SIZE
11
MBs are most likely to learn of new products from events and a sales rep
On a scale of 1 (very unlikely) to 3 (very likely), please rate how likely you are to first learn about products or services for
your business via each of these specific sources / content formats.
n=503
% rated very likely 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Case study
Audio podcast
One-off email
Radio
Pinterest
Infographic
White paper
Press release
eBook / guide / handbook
Outdoor billboard or signage
Twitter
LinkedIn
Blog
Instagram
Banner / display ad
Research report
Analyst report
External / third-party consultant
Interactive tool
Webinar / webcast
Print newsletter
TV
Forum or discussion board
Video on vendor’s website
Newspaper / magazine (print or online)
YouTube
Postcard, letter or catalog in the mail
Facebook
Email newsletter
Online review
Call or meeting with vendor sales representative
Resources section of a vendor’s website
Product section of vendor’s website
In-house staff
Event or trade show
Peer / colleague
VSB (<20)
SB (20-99)
MB (100-500)
Millennial SMBs are significantly
more likely to learn from every
source except:
• Events and trade shows
• Product & resource sections
of websites
Fast-growing companies learn
from email newsletters (29%)
and online reviews (37%) more
than their slower-growing peers.
Manufacturers are almost twice
as likely as other industries to
learn from radio.

12. NEW PRODUCT AWARENESS: CONTENT (COMPANY SIZE)
12
VSBs & SBs are most likely to learn of your new offerings via your resource center; MBs, a webcast
On a scale of 1 (very unlikely) to 3 (very likely), please rate how likely you are to first learn about products or services for
your business via each of these specific sources / content formats.
n=503
% rated very likely 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Case study
Audio podcast
Infographic
White paper
Press release
eBook / guide / handbook
Blog
Research report
Analyst report
Interactive tool
Webinar / webcast
Print newsletter
Forum or discussion board
Video on vendor’s website
Email newsletter
Resources section of a vendor’s website
VSB (<20)
SB (20-99)
MB (100-500)

13. PRODUCT RESEARCH INFORMATION SOURCES
13
Overall, SMBs rely most on their peers for product research…
On a scale of 1 (very unlikely) to 3 (very likely), please rate how likely you are to use each of these sources / content formats
when you are researching products or services for your business.
n=503
% rated very likely 0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
One-off email
White paper
Outdoor billboard or signage
Infographic
Audio podcast
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Banner / display ad
Radio
Instagram
Case study
Analyst report
Twitter
Press release
Webinar / webcast
Print newsletter
Blog
Postcard, letter or catalog in the mail
Forum or discussion board
TV
External / third-party consultant
Interactive tool
Newspaper / magazine (print or online)
Research report
Email newsletter
Facebook
eBook / guide / handbook
YouTube
Resources section of a vendor’s website
Video on vendor’s website
Call or meeting with a vendor sales representative
In-house staff
Online review
Product section of a vendor’s website
Event or trade show
Search
Peer / colleague

14. …although MBs are most likely to use search
On a scale of 1 (very unlikely) to 3 (very likely), please rate how likely you are to use each of these sources / content formats
when you are researching products or services for your business.
n=503
% rated very likely 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
One-off email
White paper
Outdoor billboard or signage
Infographic
Audio podcast
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Banner / display ad
Radio
Instagram
Case study
Analyst report
Twitter
Press release
Webinar / webcast
Print newsletter
Blog
Postcard, letter or catalog in the mail
Forum or discussion board
TV
External / third-party consultant
Interactive tool
Newspaper / magazine (print or online)
Research report
Email newsletter
Facebook
eBook / guide / handbook
YouTube
Resources section of a vendor’s website
Video on vendor’s website
Call or meeting with a vendor sales representative
In-house staff
Online review
Product section of a vendor’s website
Event or trade show
Search
Peer / colleague
VSB (<20)
SB (20-99)
MB (100-500)
PRODUCT RESEARCH: COMPANY SIZE
14
Sales calls are more valuable at
the research stage with
manufacturers (39%) than for
other industries.
Professional services firms are
significantly more likely to
conduct research via magazines
and newspapers (30%) and
research reports (27%).
Fast-growing companies lean
more heavily on Facebook
(32%) and YouTube (30%) than
their slow and no-growth peers,
and search much more (55%).

15. Millennials use a wide range of sources
On a scale of 1 (very unlikely) to 3 (very likely), please rate how likely you are to use each of these sources / content formats
when you are researching products or services for your business.
n=503
% rated very likely 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
One-off email
White paper
Outdoor billboard or signage
Infographic
Audio podcast
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Banner / display ad
Radio
Instagram
Case study
Analyst report
Twitter
Press release
Webinar / webcast
Print newsletter
Blog
Postcard, letter or catalog in the mail
Forum or discussion board
TV
External / third-party consultant
Interactive tool
Newspaper / magazine (print or online)
Research report
Email newsletter
Facebook
eBook / guide / handbook
YouTube
Resources section of a vendor’s website
Video on vendor’s website
Call or meeting with a vendor sales representative
In-house staff
Online review
Product section of a vendor’s website
Event or trade show
Search
Peer / colleague
18-34
35-49
50+
PRODUCT RESEARCH: RESPONDENT AGE
15

16. VSBs rely most on vendor video and resource centers
On a scale of 1 (very unlikely) to 3 (very likely), please rate how likely you are to use each of these sources / content formats
when you are researching products or services for your business.
n=503
% rated very likely 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
White paper
Infographic
Audio podcast
Case study
Analyst report
Press release
Webinar / webcast
Print newsletter
Blog
Forum or discussion board
Interactive tool
Research report
Email newsletter
eBook / guide / handbook
Resources section of a vendor’s website
Video on vendor’s website
VSB (<20)
SB (20-99)
MB (100-500)
PRODUCT RESEARCH: CONTENT (COMPANY SIZE)
16

17. SMBs in aggregate are also most likely to rely on their peers to make a purchase decision…
On the same scale, please rate how likely you are to use each of these sources / content formats to make a final purchase
decision on products or services for your business.
n=503
% rated very likely
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Audio podcast
Banner / display ad
Infographic
White paper
Outdoor billboard or signage
One-off email
Press release
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Newspaper / magazine (print or online)
Instagram
Radio
Webinar / webcast
Interactive tool
Case study
Analyst report
Forum or discussion board
Blog
TV
Print newsletter
Facebook
Twitter
eBook / guide / handbook
Research report
Postcard, letter or catalog in the mail
External / third-party consultant
Email newsletter
YouTube
Video on vendor’s website
Resource section of a vendor’s website
In-house staff
Online review
Search
Product section of a vendor’s website
Event or trade show
Call or meeting with vendor sales representative
Peer / colleague
PURCHASE DECISION INFORMATION SOURCES
17
Want to watch the original
Fastcast? Watch it here.
Want the full deck as a PDF?
Email us at:
info@bredin.com