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Written by Leeron Hoory Reviewed by Noa Kaufman Last Update: November 2024 From Hubspot, Mailchimp and Squarespace to Salesforce, there are an unlimited number of digital marketing tools that can help business owners run and scale their business. It can seem overwhelming to navigate the world of digital marketing, especially when the digital marketing landscape changes every year. We recently conducted a survey to find out how SMB owners are using digital marketing tools, what’s been the most helpful for their growth, where they need help and which tools and marketing directions they want to prioritize in the coming year. Almost All Businesses Felt Their Investment in Digital Marketing Tools Led to Increased ROIWhen asked how SMB owners perceived the ROI from the digital tools they were currently investing in, 37% percent of SMB owners said their ROI was “excellent,” 39% said their ROI was “good,” and 17% said the response was “average” and that the impact has been moderate. This means almost all SMBs (93%) felt their investment in digital marketing tools has led to some increased ROI. The data suggests that investing in digital marketing tools almost guarantees to lead to positive financial results for a company. The variation between “excellent”, “good” and neutral” could be attributed to various expectations and whether or not businesses are using the right digital marketing tools to meet their needs and whether their digital marketing efforts are accurately reaching their potential customers. Only 4% of participants said they did not see the results they expected from the marketing tools they invested in. The remaining 3% said tracking ROI was difficult. More Than Half of Business Owners Allocate Over 50% of Their Marketing Budget to Digital Marketing ToolsWe asked participants about how much of their marketing budget goes to digital marketing tools, and we learned that over half (54%) of respondents allocated between 26-75% of their marketing budget to digital marketing tools. We also learned that only 5% of business owners allocate between 75% and 100% of their marketing budget to digital marketing tools. This suggests that while digital marketing is an important component of SMBs marketing budget, it is not the only marketing expense the majority of businesses have. Half of Business Owners Plan to Explore Video and Live Streaming for MarketingAs technology continues to evolve, business owners are experimenting with different methods of digital marketing to engage with and increase their customer base. We discovered that 51% of SMB owners plan to use video marketing and live streaming as a marketing tool in the future. This finding indicates that SMBs are embracing more personalized and engaging forms of marketing. Given that the user-generated content market has boomed in recent years, and was valued at 4.4 billion dollars in 2022 with a projected compound annual growth rate of 29% from 2023 to 2030, it makes sense that SMB owners are prioritizing the demand for authentic video content. Content marketing, which includes blogs, emails and e-books, was another main priority for 51% of SMB owners, and customer loyalty programs were a priority for 35% of businesses. Both of these areas of focus align with an emphasis on connecting with customers on a personal level. In the Next 12 Months, Businesses Plan to Prioritize Investing in Paid Advertising (60%)When we asked respondents about the main area of marketing they plan to budget for the next 12 months, paid advertising was the most common response (60%). Forty-eight percent of SMB owners said enhancing their website and SEO was also a priority, and 49% plan to focus their budget on content marketing. These results indicate that SMBs are prioritizing increased visibility and attracting customers. They also suggest an emphasis on connecting directly with potential customers on a personal level. The emphasis on different forms of digital marketing strategies shows that businesses are focused on both long-term digital marketing strategies in the form of SEO and content marketing and shorter-term growth strategies in the form of paid advertising. The Biggest Challenge Smbs Face Is the Cost of Tools (36%)Over one-third of SMB owners said price was the biggest challenge to adopting new tools, followed by technical complexity and integration with other systems. Most popular digital marketing tools today charge monthly subscription fees, which means recurring costs can easily snowball. Our survey shows that SMBs are already allocating a significant portion of their marketing budget to digital marketing tools, with one-fourth of participants spending 51-75% of their marketing budget on digital marketing tools. However, integration with other systems is an essential part of maximizing the potential of digital marketing software. Without it, software can complicate business systems rather than simplify them. When combined with complexity as a challenge, nearly half of SMB owners see technical obstacles as their biggest challenge in using marketing tools. These responses highlight how navigating the complexity of new software can be a struggle for SMB owners and how they often need additional support to set up new systems. When looked at as a whole, these challenges reflect the concerns about the usability and affordability of digital marketing tools. 62.5% of Businesses Find Website Builders to Have the Most Significant Impact on Their GrowthOf the many tools SMB owners use to market their business online, most of the people we surveyed (62%) said a website builder had the biggest impact on their growth, followed by project management software for 56% of SMBs, and client relationship management software for 44% of business owners. However, despite the fact that website builders play a significant role in business growth, 56% of SMB owners said that they felt they needed help with building or improving their websites. This could either be because their business has grown and they need professional web support, graphic design support or help making updates and growing their website. This gap in support indicates that while websites are crucial for businesses, there’s still a substantial demand for better tools, services, or expertise in website development among SMBs. 56% of SMB Owners Reported Project Management and Team Collaboration as Important to Business GrowthWhile over half of the participants we spoke with said that project management and team collaboration were important to growing their business, 60% felt they needed help with it. The significance of managing projects effectively for businesses only increases the importance of having the right tools in place. This finding suggests that despite the importance of project management tools in business growth, there is still a large need in being able to use these tools effectively. These findings also align with the tools owners find most impactful, indicating a focus on operational efficiency and customer management. 51% of SMBs Plan to Expand Into Content MarketingGetting their business in front of more potential customers was a priority for 36% of business owners. Other goals related to customer growth and retention less prioritized, such as generating leads 21% of business owners and improving customer engagement for 20% of owners. While there are many different goals in the realm of customer engagement and retention, all of them stem from more potential customers know they exist, which explains why brand awareness is a top priority for over one-third of owners. Content marketing has many potential benefits for SMBs but one of the main ones is brand awareness and this form of digital marketing was a key priority for over half of business owners. This long-term digital marketing strategy is a way for brands to differentiate themselves with thought leadership, increase visibility and establish themselves as a leader in the field with think-pieces, educational blogs and case studies that can showcase client experiences. For SMBs, the Future of Digitial Marketing Is Personal EngagementAs SMBs create their future digital marketing budgets, one of the primary focuses is on more personalized and engaging forms of marketing. Based on our survey, video marketing, live streaming and content marketing are a few of the main emphases, all forms of digital marketing that focus on creating a personal and long-term connection with a potential customer. Where SMBs need the most help is in technical support, either in the form of project management support, software integration, technical complexity or help with website building. MethodologyThe data for this report was gathered through a survey conducted via Survey Monkey for BusinessHeroes.com, targeting small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners. A total of 112 respondents participated, with 100% completing the survey. The majority of participants (41.07%) were aged 30-44, followed by 34.82% aged 45-60. A smaller portion (12.5%) were between 18-29, and 11.61% were over 60. No respondents were under 18. The survey explored SMBs' usage of digital marketing tools, the challenges they face, and their future marketing priorities. The responses provided insights into how these tools impact business growth, budget allocation, and areas where SMB owners seek further support. | _ |