Small Business Marketing Report

Where is small business marketing as we slide into the year 2025?

It seems digital marketing is more complex than SMB owners are willing to admit.  It appears that fears or reservations about the economy and the effectiveness about digital marketing are holding them back.  Of course, if they can find reliable information about marketing channels and how to craft their brand, content, messaging and offers, they should be okay.

I’ve always marveled at how some small business owners keep their businesses thriving and alive. Few people are cut out to face the challenges they do in high rising costs, taxation, tech changes, and recessions. If you’re one, you should be applauded and celebrated just for surviving. Someone with that talent can figure out digital marketing and use it well.

What are SMB Owners Thinking?

Constant Contact, the email technology company you may have used at some point, says SMB owners are in an uncomfortable place these days. Their report entitled Small Business Now: The Current State of SMB Marketing shows owners are a little stuck and fearful of where the economy is going in 2024. Will next year be better? Likely, yes, but will their fears and misconceptions remain, year after year.

In their 2024 study, Ascend2 and Constant Contact surveyed more than 1,300 SMBs across Australia, Canada, UK, and the US. It seems many are overwhelmed by marketing and all the strategy, creativity and production tasks required today. 3 out of 4 are confident of their current strategy.

“Key obstacles are a lack of time and limited marketing expertise, both of which cause many SMBs to put marketing on the back burner. They recognize the need to amplify their voice and attract new customers, but many are uncertain about which channels to leverage, what content resonates, and how to create a strategy that achieves their goals.”

Confidence in the economy is low. That’s understandable given the shift to high interest rates and the government’s support of big business. The CC report revealed 80% percent of those surveyed are concerned that the current economic climate would negatively impact their business in the years ahead.

So behind it all, is the economic outlook and likely fears of the real estate market uncertainty too. After all, SMB owners are highly affected by mortgages and rent.  Real estate is likely their biggest expense (rent).

Do They Really Have a Strategy?

Strangely, 84% report feeling fairly confident about their current marketing strategy. So, we might have some self-deception going on, as they grapple with a weak market, high costs and tough competition. The chart below shows they’re not experts in marketing.  They intend to spend 5% to 20% more on marketing, and 44% report spending more time on marketing while only 39% say their budget is increasing.

Respondents said they spend the least time on marketing as a business task, which might mean they’re either satisfied with where they’re at or they feel marketing won’t deliver results.  Their attitude toward marketing needs to be opened up and studied.

Are Owners Really Qualified to Conduct Their Own Marketing?

That has to be asked given how challenging it has become. As the chart below shows, creating high-quality content, crafting a marketing strategy, amplifying their content and messages, testing and evaluating campaigns and asset performance, posting and engaging on social media, and managing promotional campaigns are the activities they find time-consuming if not stressful.

The reasons for procrastination vary, with lack of time, budget, marketing knowledge, strategic knowledge and complexity being most cited.

60% of respondents believe finding new customers is their top challenge while 31% believe retaining customers is a top challenge. Seems all customers must be wooed constantly.  They report not knowing what works and what doesn’t is a problem, so creating a marketing strategy with the right messaging might be beyond their capabilities.

Respondents said they use more than one marketing channel and believe it is better to use several. Most are more confident with email and SMS solutions, but less so with even marketing and advanced SEO.

What are Good Expectations?

You might find none of this is unexpected. SMB owners are experts in their business and its products/services, in running a business and managing its financing, and managing people and sales. There’s no embarrassment in not having a big marketing budget or lacking the many digital marketing skills necessary today.

Good expectations are realistic forcing you to get the specific talent you need for your retail store, travel agency, real estate company, or management software firm.

Marketing is a specialized talent that deserves respect.  It’s not just a lead generator either.  Marketing helps owners like yourself understand your customer audience, what they like, to help you reposition to be the company they want.  And its marketing’s persuasiveness that makes them believe “you’re the only company for them.”  That’s where customer retention resides.

The whole, free do-it-yourself trend that rushed in during the pandemic just doesn’t cut it now. And one good reason is the level of competition and complexity.  The bar’s been raised as competitors are putting more effort into high-quality marketing and all it entails.

A great marketing strategy begins with a clear, detailed view of the market and the target customer which provides the focus for the company’s brand image.  From that, the full set of features, benefits, pains, promises, and assets becomes more apparent.

Assemble Your Marketing Dream Team

Small businesses need freelance talent, yet likely can’t find suitable marketers with a wide range of skills, and the ability to hire designers and other consultants as needed. But more likely, it has to do with an unwillingness to invest in marketing skill.

At some point, an SMB owner might want to work with a branding consultant to build a brand image and a value proposition, along with discussing what the offer to customers should be. It is complicated and if you’re a travel agency owner, SaaS software company, or Realtor, you need a brand positioning that makes sense. Bouncing ideas back and forth could be really helpful.

Then to conduct your campaign, a digital marketing strategist would learn the subtleties of your brand, UVP, and customer market, and craft a campaign involving content, marketing channels and messages that get your offer and brand across laser clear.

Find out more about innovative travel marketing, real estate marketing, and travel software marketing.

Contact Gord at 416 998 6246 to discuss helping you excel with your digital marketing strategy.