small business revenue on the rise according to new constant contact survey 2014
DESCRIPTION
“Doing more with less” has become a common refrain in America over the last few years and new survey data from Constant Contact®, Inc., released in conjunction with Small Business Week, indicates that small businesses are getting quite good at doing just that. Small businesses surveyed reported a strong 2013, with almost 40 percent saying their revenues increased 10 percent or more over 2012, despite the fact that 65 percent have had to make concessions to economic pressures, from reducing operating costs and marketing budgets, to changing their offerings, and more. The 2013 revenue upswing has small business owners feeling optimistic about what lies ahead, with an overwhelming majority (81 percent) expecting revenues to continue to rise in 2014.TRANSCRIPT
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Revenue on the Rise
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Almost 40 percent of SMBs said their 2013 revenues increased 10 percent or more over 2012.
13%
26%
23% 22%
7% 6%
3%
Increased greaterthan 25%
Increased between10 and 25%
Increased lessthan 10%
Stayed the same Decreased lessthan 10%
Decreasedbetween 10 and
25%
Decreased greaterthan 25%
Great Expectations
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81 percent of SMBs expect revenues to increase in 2014.
13%
38%
30%
15%
2% 1% 1%
Increase greaterthan 25%
Increase between10 and 25%
Increase less than10%
Stay the same Decrease less than10%
Decrease between10 and 25%
Decrease greaterthan 25%
Cash Flow
4
64%
26%
8%
2%
Yes, I have adequate cash flow
No, and it is preventing me from growingmy business
No, and it is barely enough to maintaincurrent operations
No, and my business may not survive thenext 12 months
The majority of SMBs have adequate cash flow.
Optimism & Jobs
5
27%
49%
24%
Yes
No
Unsure
Here is how SMBs responded when asked if they’ll be hiring over the next 12 months.
Growing Marketing Opportunities = More Vendors
6
43.5%
49%
7.5%
1 to 2 3 to 4 5+
The majority of SMBs are working with multiple vendors.
82% of respondents say they have adopted multi-channel marketing programs. Of the 73% who said they were successful, the following gains were cited:
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• More customer engagement (73 percent)
• More new customers (57 percent)
• More website traffic (54 percent)
• Increased event attendance (42 percent)
• More revenue (40 percent)
• More referrals (39 percent)
However, for the 27 percent who have not indicated success with their multi-channel marketing efforts, their most-cited reasons are:
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• Don’t know if their customers are using all the channels (59 percent)
• Don’t know how to measure success
across all the channels (35 percent)
• Find it too time-consuming to get everything done across all the platforms (32 percent)
• Don’t know how to use all of the platforms (26 percent)
• Too difficult to get the messaging and looks right (15 percent)
• Hard to keep my contacts straight (15 percent)
Drawbacks of Using Multiple Tools
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15%
33%
45%
46%
48%
Other
Cost
Keeping contact information up to date everywhere
Keeping a consistent look and feel
Learning how to use different interfaces
Using multiple online marketing tools can lead to hassles for SMBs, making one-stop shop solutions like Constant Contact’s Toolkit desirable.
About the Data This Constant Contact data was compiled from a survey administered in March 2014 to 1,305 participants in the Constant Contact Small Biz Council – a research panel of US small businesses and nonprofits recruited from the Constant Contact customer base. The survey is part of an ongoing series about the state of small businesses and the ways they connect with, and grow, their audiences.
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