Small Business Marketing by the Numbers

Almost every small business owner would like to increase sales, but it can be hard to decide where to focus marketing efforts. Armed with these facts, it becomes a lot easier to see where you should spend your money as a small business owner.

Let’s take each marketing channel in turn:

Mobile
Mobile web usage continues to increase daily, and is projected to surpass desktop web usage by 2014. Half of all local searches are now done on a mobile device, and these aren’t just idle searches. In fact, a whopping 90% of mobile searches lead to an action, and over half of these are purchases! This means that having a mobile website is an absolute must for businesses that want to maximize their opportunities.

But it isn’t just about taking advantage of a way to boost sales. Not having a mobile-optimized website can actually do serious damage to your business. This is because 40% of searchers head to a competitor’s website after a bad mobile website experience with a particular company. Your lack of a mobile website is actually an advantage for your competition, especially if they’re up to date with their mobile optimization.

Takeaway: A mobile-optimized website is a must for small businesses that want to remain competitive.

SEO
Search engine optimization remains crucial. What you may not know is that a surprising amount of foot traffic to your location can come from Google. 88% of searchers for a type of business actually go to one within 24 hours. This response is even more immediate on mobile, where 70% of searches are followed up with an action within an hour. In addition, SEO leads have a close rate of 15%, which is higher than referrals, paid search, social media, and outbound leads.

Takeaway: SEO is a solid source of web AND in-person traffic.

Social media
Social media includes platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but also online review sites like Yelp, and small businesses would be well served to address both. A few stats cover the core reasons why:

Seven out of ten consumers are more likely to use a local business if it has information available on a social media site. This stat isn’t just fluff, either. 20% of Facebook users have actually purchased something because of ads or comments they saw there. That is, social media can directly generate sales.

As for online review sites, 72% of consumers trust them as much as personal recommendations from people they know. While word-of-mouth will always be valuable, Internet recommendations have become equally as valuable.

Takeaways: Social media creates sales and online reviews are now fully trusted.

Email
We could go on at length about why email marketing is so much more than just “spam,” but one stat says it all: businesses return $40 for every $1 spent on email marketing! For many businesses, this is the most cost-effective multiple available in any marketing channel.

Takeaway: If you don’t do email marketing, you’re definitely leaving a significant amount of money on the table.

Websites
49% of sites are not compliant with basic usability principles. On mobile, 93.3% percent of small business websites are not mobile-compatible. This means that they will not render successfully on mobile devices or smartphones. Put another way, they’ll look bad and users will quickly hit the “Back” button.

The result? 50% of online sales are lost because visitors can’t find the content they want. This can be something as basic as a phone number, which 60% of local businesses omit from their website.

Takeaway: do a quick review to make sure your site is functional on all devices, and that basic info is easy to find.

Web ads
Web ads are low-cost but also fairly low effectiveness. Click-through rates are currently averaging .1%, half of those may be mistakes, and a significant portion may not even be actual human users.

Takeaway: web ads might be part of a successful strategy, but don’t rely on them to generate your sales.

Content marketing
Companies with active blogs receive 97% more leads, and content marketing has recently been ranked the single most effective SEO technique, according to Marketing Sherpa. A blog costs less than traditional marketing, and each post can serve as a perpetual “ad” that will bring a stream of traffic as long as it is up. Thus, blogs are well worth the effort.

Takeaway: invest in regular blogging to enjoy a highly cost effective boost in leads.