50% of small businesses don’t have a marketing plan

A new study of small business owners in the United States reveals that many are operating without a marketing plan.

According to a survey of 350 small and medium-sized business (SME) owners, 50% don’t have a marketing plan for 2019.

Outbound Engine’s study asks small business owners about revenue growth, stress, what’s stopping them from achieving their business goals, the most effective marketing tactics, and more.

Here are some highlights from the study.

Factors Affecting Small Business Marketing in 2019

Small business owners are stressed, overwhelmed, strapped for time and have limited budgets.

According to survey responses, 62% of small business owners are equally or more stressed about their business this year compared to last year.

As a result, their marketing efforts are falling apart, according to the study:

• 25% of respondents don’t know how they plan to grow their business in 2019.
• 55% of small business owners spend less than 5% of their annual turnover on marketing.
• More than 58% of small business owners spend five hours or less on marketing each week.
• 86% of respondents would rather spend their time on other business activities than spending time on marketing.

A little effort goes a long way

Those who feel overwhelmed with the thought of investing time and effort into marketing should pay attention to these next stats.

The study indicates that small business owners don’t have to spend much more time or money to achieve better results.

A slight increase in marketing investments led SMBs to see greater revenue growth in 2018 than those that invested less in marketing.

Data shows that as little as 5% time investment can impact revenue growth.

81% of respondents who invested between 5% and 10% of their annual revenue in marketing said they experienced revenue growth in 2018

In comparison, only 50% of respondents who invested less than 5% of their income in marketing realized any revenue of any value.

For more information, see the full study here (PDF link).