Many small businesses will increase their marketing and advertising spending this year, according to a new survey conducted by business-to-business (B2B) ratings and reviews provider Clutch.
The Clutch "Small Business Digital Marketing Survey" of 350 small- and medium-sized business (SMB) owners and managers revealed 49 percent of respondents plan to spend more on marketing and advertising in 2017 than they did last year.
Meanwhile, 68 percent of survey respondents spent less than $100,000 on marketing in 2016, with 41 percent spending less than $10,000.
SMBs Eye Digital Marketing
Small businesses are eager to increase their digital marketing investments in 2017, according to the Clutch survey. This year's most popular small business digital marketing investments include:
- Paid social media (58 percent).
- Website (56 percent).
- Email marketing (39 percent).
- SEO (35 percent).
In addition, 49 percent of survey respondents said they rely on one or two employees to produce digital marketing campaigns, and 80 percent stated they work with one or more digital marketing agencies.
Why Is Marketing Essential for TSPs?
On a related note, Mark Sokol, vice president of product marketing and branding at ConnectWise, recently outlined six reasons why marketing is essential for technology solution providers (TSPs):
- Your referral stream could slow down. Marketing provides TSPs with a consistent lead flow.
- You won't have to worry about breaking your budget. TSPs can use a cost-effective and user-friendly marketing management tool to streamline their marketing campaigns.
- You can use your website to your advantage. Website forms allow TSPs to collect prospect and customer information.
- You can provide timely, relevant updates. TSPs can set up marketing calendars and send timely, relevant messages to prospects and customers.
- You can obtain stronger, more qualified leads. With a lead scoring system in place, TSPs can identify which prospects are ready to be passed on to sales teams.
- You can capitalize on social media. Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks make it easy to reach a large audience. Also, TSPs can provide special deals and discounts via social media.
Ultimately, marketing enables a TSP to produce a "strong, relatable message," Sokol wrote in a blog post. It allows a TSP to engage with prospects and customers, Sokol noted, and promote its brand and culture effectively.
