Three B2B Experts Share How SMBs Can Move the Marketing Needle Now

Today, as rapid innovation and economic uncertainty leave even the best of us feeling overwhelmed, small and midsize businesses (SMBs) face mounting pressure to get their marketing right. The stakes are high and missteps can be costly. On a recent series of episodes from the B2BInfluence podcast, three marketing experts shared hard-earned insights on how SMBs can take practical steps forward, from aligning sales and marketing, to choosing the right consultants, and knowing who their ideal customers are. Their advice centers on clarity, fundamentals, and building measurable impact.

1. Kneko Burney Miller: Reach the Right People, Not the Most People

Kneko Burney Miller, Founder and Chief Innovator for Change3, a full-service marketing and lead generation agency, is a long-time friend and OMI partner. We have the utmost respect for her expertise. On the podcast, she emphasized the pervasiveness of digital advertising, noting that many SMBs don’t grasp that it often delivers poor results when used without a clear targeting strategy.

“Unless you can really craft a well-known audience that aligns with your brand, your product, and your targeting, digital ads are like taking your money and dumping it into your barbecue,” she said.

Her point is that ads only work when they’re built on a solid foundation of customer understanding. Kneko encourages SMBs in the B2B sector to stop chasing impressions and instead focus on reaching the right people. “Don’t worry about going viral,” she advised. “Worry about reaching your target customer—your persona” and the accounts that matter.. This approach is measurable, which is key to understanding what’s working and what’s not.

She also highlighted a common blind spot in digital marketing: attribution. Many business decisions are made offline or across multiple devices, making it difficult to tie conversions back to any one channel. Instead of obsessing over incomplete metrics, she recommends focusing on building authentic engagement through value-driven experiences like thought leadership and podcasts.

“500 podcast listeners may not sound like much,” she said, “but if they’re the right 500 future customers, that’s incredibly powerful.”

Kneko’s practical advice is a reminder that scale isn’t everything. Effective marketing is about depth, not breadth. It connects your message with the right audience, in the right context, at the right time.

2. Debra Bowers: Understand Your Customer Before You Market

Debra Bowers, CEO of Hexagon Media LLC and host of the Deals with Heels podcast, sees many SMBs making the same critical error: they jump into marketing without first taking the time to understand who their customers really are.

“As the small business owner, you have to understand—who are my customers? Which ones am I trying to reach in this campaign? What’s my offer? What’s my message? What’s the call to action?” she said.

Without that clarity, outsourcing content creation or media buying is unlikely to deliver results. Content creators can be highly skilled, but unless business owners provide direction rooted in their own customer insight, campaigns risk becoming generic or misaligned.

Debra also cautioned against relying solely on marketing agencies that offer a narrow scope of services. In one example, a client with an extremely niche B2B audience—just 15 viable prospects in a single state—was sold a broad social media program that didn’t match the need. “He went to a social media agency, so he got a social media solution,” she said. What he really needed was precision targeting through paid digital and curated lists.

Her key message: Business owners must stay closely connected to their audience and tailor their strategy and tactics accordingly. Above all, Debra underscored the importance of aligning marketing with an effective sales strategy.

3. Adam Sinkus: Find a Consultant Who Builds, Not Just Advises

For many SMBs, hiring a marketing consultant is the first step in getting their strategy off the ground. But too often, the help stops at the planning phase.

Agencies “need to get away from just dumping strategies into people's laps,” explains Adam Sinkus, Managing Partner for A Purpose Partnership.  “We need to actually help them build a plan and build the pieces they need to execute.”

He emphasized that strategy without support is a setup for failure. Too many SMBs are left with a roadmap and no vehicle to drive it. His advice: choose a consultant who doesn’t just deliver slide decks, but who rolls up their sleeves to implement the work, whether that’s content, social media, PR, or paid campaigns.

Foundational marketing understanding is also essential. “Probably 70% of the people we talk to have no idea who their ideal customer is,” he said. Adam and his team start with defining the target audience and building around that insight before anything is pushed out the door.

In his view, execution isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s the difference between seeing marketing results or watching a strategy gather dust.

Go here to watch all three podcast episodes.

Top Takeaways

Across all three conversations, one truth came through clearly: successful marketing for SMBs doesn’t start with trendy tactics, but with solid fundamentals. In addition, in a noisy, ever-changing marketplace, SMBs can’t afford imprecise marketing. With the right approach, they can stand out, connect with customers, and drive real business growth—even in uncertain times.

If your goal is to connect with and sell to more SMBs, did you know that OMI offers the largest database of U.S.-based SMB businesses in the world, with more than 123 million business contacts with email addresses? Go here for a case study highlighting a leading telecom provider’s success selling into the SMB market using OMI’s B2B prospect data.

Reach out to our team today at request@outwardmedia.com for a complimentary consultation on how to create a precision custom audience that will have a meaningful impact on your business.