Advertising is crucial to small businesses. Without any customers, there cannot be sales. But without marketing, there are no customers to begin with. It’s also becoming increasingly important that smaller organizations take advantage of digital advertising opportunities that can increase their reach and brand influence. Yet a recent study finds small businesses are lagging well behind their larger counterparts in adoption of online marketing techniques. If a small business doesn’t have the capability to do so, it can investigate a small business equipment lease that can help it obtain the necessary tools.
A recent survey by the Boston Consulting Group of 550 small business owners found just 3 percent of their respective firms’ marketing budgets go through online channels, compared with the 15 percent of marketing dollars from larger organizations that flow digitally.
The report noted that instead of focusing on internet marketing avenues like social media and mobile, small businesses are directing their advertising budgets toward traditional methods like Sunday circulars and coupons.
“These findings may come as a surprise, given the explosive growth that digital marketing has experienced in social media and mobile communications and the high percentage of small businesses that say they are promoting themselves widely on email, websites, Facebook, and Twitter,” said John Rose, a senior partner and coauthor.
Not only were small business owners found to pass over emerging online marketing strategies in favor of more traditional ones, they were also less knowledgeable of Internet marketing overall; just 15 percent of small business owners knew they had a free Yelp account for their business, and only 11 percent took advantage of it.
Small business owners who want to advance their digital marketing agenda can look to National Funding for a small business loan to infuse more cash or a small business equipment lease to procure the equipment needed to boost online advertising capacity.
