Small businesses have had to get scrappy during COVID-19 to stay afloat. A key indication of their success? Their marketing efforts. CallRail recently released a reportOpens a new window with new research showing how small businesses (SMBs) navigated their marketing needs in light of the pandemic. To provide a comprehensive look at the state of marketing to SMBs, CallRail surveyed 600 U.S.-based SMB owners across various industries, including legal services, healthcare, automotive, real estate, home services, financial services, and advertising. The findings were telling and revealed that SMBs are investing in marketing and flocking toward marketing agencies now more than ever. Here’s why.Â
1.SMBs Understand That Investing in Marketing Is Critical for Business Growth and Customer Engagement
At the onset of COVID-19, SMBs recognized that marketing efforts could make or break their business. About 81% of SMB owners believe that their marketing strategies were critical to the success of their businesses during the pandemic, and 71% would go so far as to say that marketing was critical to their businesses’ very survival.
SMBs need to garner customer interest and engagement in their products and services effectively, and they need to do so with as efficient a budget as possible. More than any other avenue, marketing can achieve that objective and unlock business growth. Recognizing this, nearly half (43%) of business owners plan to invest more money into developing marketing strategies over the next year than they currently do.
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2. Marketing Agencies Empower SMB Owners to Focus on What They Signed up For: Running Their Businesses
Most SMB owners didn’t go into business because they love mapping customer journeys and integrating marketing software. But to compete, they need to understand their customer and be able to put customer data to use.
While the early stages of business may necessitate a DIY marketing program, as SMBs grow, it becomes increasingly challenging for owners to successfully manage other critical business needs in addition to running an effective marketing program. They don’t have the time to run a business and their marketing operations entirely on their own.Â
As such, it’s no surprise that 74% of SMB owners who do their own marketing admit they would rather spend their time on primary business responsibilities.
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3. Marketing Agencies Are Unlocking SMBs’ Rapid Business Growth
It’s critical for SMBs to conduct marketing programs that garner the best ROI for each dollar, and marketing agencies can offer the deep expertise needed to drive leads that convert to customers from marketing campaigns. That’s why 45% of DIY marketers say it’s highly likely they will hire an agency in the future, and 39% say that it’s somewhat likely they will do so.Â
Marketing agencies are a lifeline for SMBs during turbulent economic times. And remarkably, SMB owners who used a marketing agency during the pandemic were 82% more likely than average to say they were able to grow their businesses during the pandemic economy.Â
SMBs are increasingly resilient and able to adapt to varying market conditions and economic swings, as we’ve seen during COVID-19. Implementing a robust marketing strategy driven by a data-driven marketing agency can enable SMBs to sustain their growth and propel business profitability. As we look toward 2022, we will continue to see SMBs prioritize marketing programs and turn to marketing agencies to drive their success.Â
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