02/ 11/ 2008
NFIB Research Uncovers Facts on Small-Business Marketing Practices
You can find more information about small-business marketing and advertising practices by accessing two recent polls conducted by NFIB's Research Foundation. Some highlights include:
Small-Business Owners and Marketing Perspectives
Forty-eight percent of small businesses have a separate annual marketing budget within the firm's overall budget; 43 percent do not.
Experience and customer observation are far more likely to influence a small-business owner's marketing decisions than formal, systematic approaches. For example, 83 percent base most of their marketing decisions on what they learn from day-to-day contact with customers.
Repeat customers are prized because they are easier to attract and less costly to retain. Twelve percent of small businesses have virtually all repeat customers, with another 34 percent indicating most are. Forty-five percent report a mix of repeat and non-repeat customers. The remainder rely primarily on non-repeat business.
Small-Business Owners and Promotion and Advertising
The most effective means to promote the business, according to a large majority of small-business owners, is positive word-of-mouth and associated referrals. Eighty-two percent report word-of-mouth contributes substantially to generating their sales revenues.
Among the most important sources of small-business advertising are the Internet, word-of-mouth, newspapers, direct mail and the Yellow Pages. Fifty-one percent of small, employing businesses have a Web site.
Half of small employers who advertise do so steadily throughout the year, and another 25 percent do so with periodic ups and downs. Just 13 percent confine their advertising to a season or short period.
To view both polls, go to www.411SmallBusinessFacts.com, where you can easily search by keyword or scroll through categories to find small-business facts.
