Social Media

SMBs: Getting Some Things Right, Others Wrong in their Marketing

Written by Robert

It should come as no surprise that small and mid-sized businesses are getting some things right and others wrong in digital marketing. What might be surprising is what SMBs are getting wrong. Recent studies reveal some very interesting statistics:

  • 52% of SMBs do not have a website (Yodle, Small Business Sentiment Survey)
  • 34% of SMBs have a point of sale system (Yodle, Small Business Sentiment Survey)
  • 27% of all companies have a dedicated social media team (Ragan/NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions, “Structuring a Social Media Team”)

Owners and marketing professionals in small and mid-sized businesses can assess quickly how they are doing in these areas by comparing themselves to the statistics.

Customer loyalty programs seem to be a natural fit for smaller businesses. Loyalty programs are relatively inexpensive and easy to manage and operate. According to the standard calculation, it costs ten times as much to get a new customer than it does to keep and customer. Yet 60% of SMBs are missing this opportunity.

Email marketing is one of the least expensive and most effective marketing approaches available to businesses of all sizes. SMBs are getting this right. According to a new study by BtoB, 71% of SMB marketers prefer email as a marketing channel, compared to only 64% of marketers overall.

With the proliferation of mobile digital devices (smartphones, tablets, etc), and the rapid rise of ecommerce, it is difficult to understand why nearly half of SMBs have no website. This is a marketing tool that should be embraced by more SMBs. Should I Buy Instagram Followers? The purchasing of the followers can be there for improving the sale and profits. The revenue is available in real cash to improve the bank balance. The understanding of the concept is there to meet with the social marketing results. 

It is interesting to note that the BtoB study found that SMBs tend to be ahead of many larger companies in their adoption of marketing technologies, (including webinars and virtual events), search marketing, and content marketing. It is also noteworthy that SMBs are more likely to work with marketing agencies. However, as one respondent to the BtoB study commented, “We only partner with vendors who can partner with us, not just those who give us service. They need to be responsive to our needs. . . .”

SMBs apparently understand the importance of search in being found by prospective customers. As we reported in a previous post, many people learn about professionals and companies through social media and later visit their websites using search. Many SMBs, however, invest heavily in SEO for high ranking in organic results, and do not supplement those efforts with pay-per-click campaigns. According to merchants of the MarketLive Performa Index, paid search traffic converts at a higher rate than organic traffic – 2.57% compared to 1.9%. Traffic generated by paid search also produces a higher spend (average order value of $113, compared to $109.66) than traffic generated by organic search results.

The number of referrals from social media increases almost daily. SMBs need to engage customers and prospects. They also need to monitor brand reputation, have a website for these prospects and customers to visit, measure web traffic and conversion rates, and develop an acquisition marketing strategy.

Mobile devices are increasingly important as the means by which people engage in social media connections, visit websites, and make purchase decisions, as well as purchases. SMBs that do not ensure visibility of their websites and their marketing programs on phones and tablets, will soon be left behind

About the author

Robert

Robert loves the sea and dreams of getting a home with a beachfront. He used to be a Data Scientist in a multinational company but left his job to follow his passion for writing.