Only 63% of SMB Respondents Have Used Online Advertising or Marketing: Affinity Express Survey

In our recently concluded survey of our small business customers, we asked them about their use of online advertising and marketing tactics.

63% of our SMB respondents said they have used online advertising or marketing. This is surprisingly low compared to other recent surveys, and suggests that the customer group we reached (or just merely those of them who chose to answer our survey) is less sophisticated in its use of online tactics. This is also indicated in the comments: several respondents expressed their lack of familiarity with online tactics and their desire for education.

We also asked respondents to choose from a range of tactics and indicate which they have used.  Not surprisingly, website and landing pages is the most common tactic among respondents who market online (77%). Email marketing is also quite common (73%).

That search engine optimization is used only by 31%–far less than the number of respondents with websites and social media profiles—speaks for the need for educating this group about online marketing tactics. Search engine optimization could make their websites, landing pages and social media pages much more effective marketing channels.

I am not surprised by the relatively low prevalence of blogging—as I so well know, managing a blog takes work! I would say more businesses could use online ads, whether display or search ads. Social media marketing should also be used by more small-business marketers: I’d say that’s nearly as important now-a-days as having a website.

And while any form of marketing takes effort, knowledge and resources, a social media presence is easier for a small-business owner to initiate, build and manage, maybe with a little help and education.  What is encouraging is that 84% of our respondents said they plan to use online marketing by the end of this year. I’d really like to know what they’ll say in next year’s survey.

For the full report and all charts, access the SMB Online Marketing and Advertising Survey.