Steele Agency » marketing trends

2010 Small Business Marketing Forecast

Tricia — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:33:17 +0000

This afternoon, I had a chance to check out a 2010 report published by Ad-ology titled “Small Business Marketing Forecast” that finds 58% of the 1,100 small businesses (under 100 employees) surveyed in November 2009 agree that “social media is a good way to both increase business and to know what people are saying about a business.” Even at 1,100 respondents, this is the largest survey of its kind about small business and marketing trends.

Social networks described as “Very or Somewhat Beneficial” were Facebook (33%), LinkedIn (21%), Twitter (19%), MySpace (17%) and YouTube (15%).

Top business benefits?

generating leads (50%)
keeping up with the industry (45%)
monitoring online conversation about their business or industry (44%).
competitive intelligence (43%)
improving customer experience (41%)
finding vendors/suppliers (38%)
resolving problems (33%)
new employee recruiting (27%)
background checks of employees and suppliers (27%).

This is great news for us, of course, because we have built our business on the notion that small businesses will be using social, digital, and measurable marketing tools more and more as a part of their standard marketing toolbox. But it’s interesting in a much larger way. You see, social media is fundamentally local and small. The things that matter across social media networks are the things that matter to the people within each person’s community. The really great stories of big companies using social media involve them acting a lot like a small business – personal response, addressing by name, not bringing up policies all the time, letting customers put photos up, acting quickly and acting apart from bureaucracy. A small business doesn’t have to go through a training to know how to treat people genuinely. The small business becomes the model when it comes to tending and maintaining a social media environment.

Finally, customers are wanting to do business with people, not companies, and they are gathering in places where the barriers to enter are extremely low. This report is just one more piece of data that indicates it’s the perfect time for a small business to jump into social media for all its marketing, service, and relationship potential. Seemingly.

However, I am still left wondering if small businesses within a community outside the suburbs or city environment really think these things, and if social media is as effective as it might be with big city types. Is it just a matter of more prolific technology access and more small town folks joining in the social media movement? Or is it a chicken and egg scenario, where businesses offering added benefits on social media networks work as the impetus to build the participation of local people? What do you think?

A Question for Our Clients and Readers

Caroline Herndon — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:02:25 +0000

First, a disclaimer: yes, our clients are diverse. Among others, we serve a weight-loss company, insurance company, bank, and manufacturer. However, you all have at least two things in common: you want to serve your customers, and you want to succeed financially in a tough economy.

With that in mind, consider how the current shift in marketing and advertisement could benefit your particular business. All the buzz words – engagement, conversation, social media, webbed – boil down to one reality. Marketing is now a two-way street, giving consumers just as much time to talk as businesses. Fortune 500 companies from Coca-Cola to the Marriot are learning what small town businessmen have always known: relationships equal sales. For large and small businesses, blogs are just part of the shift.

So here’s the question: how can we help fill the gaps? Maybe you’ve got a Facebook account but need help creating applications for your business. Maybe you want to start a blog for customer questions but aren’t sure where to start. Or maybe you’re still wondering why all this is necessary. Let us know!

Furthermore, if you happen to have particular expertise in, say, podcasts or twitter, feel free to share tips and success stories.

Most of all, if you disagree with “engagement” as a marketing strategy, say so.

Let’s talk.

Recession Marketing 101

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:22:57 +0000

We’ll begin a 4-part e-newsletter series on tips and tricks to maximizing your advertising dollars by utilizing web-based, buzz-creating, fully trackable, and immediate response-generating technologies.

Look for links to current research, trends, and testimonies from “the big guys” as well as general information and opinions about various products and services.