Is there opportunity for SMB Owners & Entrepreneurs?

With today’s economic uncertainty, Small- and Mid-size Business (SMB) owners are tightening their belts just to survive. Employees being laid off has had a huge impact on our economy as we all know by listening to the news. The Bureau of Labor Statistics makes it sound as if things are looking up, however layoffs have a compounding effect, and not normally in an accurate direction. Government statistics are always skewed from a political point of view, regardless of who’s in office and simply are not a credible, non-biased gauge on reality. The fact is, a great many jobs have been lost and on top of reducing employees, business owners have decreased marketing and advertising.

Over 700 small businesses responded to a survey about their marketing for 2010. This survey conducted by Zoomerang in association with Growbiz Media found that 89% of businesses employed less than 25 people, 3% employed between 26 and 50, 4% between 51 and 100, and 1% for both 250 – 500 and 501 to 1,000 employees.

In November of 2011, over 1,000 SMB decision makers were surveyed. When it came to the question of hiring, 66% said they would not be hiring in 2012 as a result of the impact 2011 had on their business. It was also discovered that of those surveyed last November, the top 3 areas which SMBs plan to invest are in Marketing (35%), Sales (28%) and Technology/IT (22%).

When it came to their annual marketing budget, every business owner stated cuts were necessary. Over half of the respondents stated they had reduced their marketing budget to less than $1,000. And in 2010, less than 20% had budgets up to $9,000. The survey did not specify or go into the various markets or types of businesses. Not all businesses market the same way or even use their website for marketing however, one concept which has proven to be reality is word of mouth and social marketing.

In a little over a year a great deal has changed. Of those business owners surveyed in 2010, 54% stated they had websites however most were using their websites for informational purpose only. What is important today? It’s not about information anymore; it’s about creating “The Buzz”. The purpose of a website for Informational purpose only is so counter productive. Information is passive and extremely non productive. Smart business owners are finding how to become active with their website usage.

Here is the huge difference – a passive marketing strategy only draws traffic to the site and requires a great deal of SEO effort which is still important but could become costly depending on the SEO service. Compare that to an active marketing campaign strategy that pushes traffic to the site which is accomplished through outside sources on the web promoting the site. Social Media has become the fastest growing medium by which to push traffic to sites and SMBs are beginning to catch on.

Overall, the internet is the leading marketing media among almost all businesses, with print media coming close behind (including direct mail which is a form of print media). 35% of the surveyed are using some form of social media for marketing, and among the leading social media are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. It is taking SMB owners time to realize the importance in using Social Media. When asked, 11% stated they were going to use Social Media as their primary source for getting new customers yet 25% were going to focus on Word of Mouth. It was interesting to see that 66% believe Social Media was the most affordable method and 41% saw no value.

For 2012, the top 4 areas SMB will increase their budgets will be website (17%), Direct Mail (15%), Email Marketing (15%) and Social Media (13%). Increase in SEO budget falls to only 4% for 1012.

And what was the one area SMBs will focus their attention for improving in 2012? Getting more customers; growing their customer base. Almost 60% said they plan to focus in getting new customers while only 38% would focus on retaining existing customers.

Is there a silver lining in today’s economy? Is there an opportunity for both Business Owners and Entrepreneurs? There certainly is! 
It is obvious businesses are looking for economical ways with which to improve their business. Many are beginning to see the importance in having an active rather than a passive internet marketing strategy. But it is not equally among all age groups. The younger generation of SMB owners are seen to be leaning heavily towards Social Media Channels while the older generation either do not plan on using it or just don't know but even they are looking for solutions. For those who have lost jobs may be optimistic in knowing there is an opportunity for them to help SMB owners. If one looks, there is always opportunities. The question is, how?

That is where GrowOnlineNow.com comes in. Not only do we have solutions for SMB owners, we also have opportunities for those individuals who seek out and seize opportunities. We have an Internship Program designed for individuals who have not been able to secure a job after being laid off, or those wanting to position themselves with a secondary plan of action in order to protect against having the family income totally eliminated.

The Internship Program provides a win-win solution for both individuals and SMBs:

• For the average person we provide the infrastructure through our Internship Program to start a new business. We provide tools, training, mentorship and support to get their business started including the ability to attain the necessary capital.
• Our Internship Program provides the intern tools to assist SMBs in attaining an “affordable” solution with the industry’s only “all inclusive” web site platform and services which includes high tech Web Sites, unlimited technical support, customer support, SEO support, Social Networking support, as well as Email and Domain support as well as other services.

For more information and to get details on our Internship Program, visit ExploreGrowOnlineNow.com.

For SMB owners wanting to know more information on our “All Inclusive” web site platform and services, visit us at GrowOnlineNow.com.

For details on surveys used in this article, go to SMB Bbusiness perspective for 2011 and 2012 and SMB Marketing Practices Survey for 2010.