small biz survey presentation

Vistaprint Small Business Survey

Company Confidential Vistaprint © 2009

Project Objectives

o Assess the overall importance of marketing to small businesseso Understand what marketing tools small business owners are currently

using, and which tools they plan to or would like to use in the futureo Gauge marketing spend in 2009 vs. 2008, and what tools small businesses

are using more (or less) of because of the downturno Measure marketing budget and time spent


Survey Methodology

o 300 respondentso 5-minute online surveyo To qualify, respondents must self-report as either a sole

proprietor, independent contractor, owner or general manager of a business with less than 100 full- or part-time employees


Respondent Base

o 300 individuals are represented in the Small Business Survey• 54% male / 46% female• 73% of respondents are over 45 years old

o Of the total sample, 56% work for a business with only one employee; 35% with 2-10 employees; 9% with 10+ employees

• The mean company size in the 2-10 employees segment is 4 employees; mean in the 10+ employee segment is 33 employees.

o Respondents’ small businesses are 13 years old, on average


Small Businesses’ Marketing


Half of small business decision-makers consider marketing a major success factor, but over half have a marketing budget of < $500

$500 - $99917%

$1000-$250013%

Over $250010%

$0 - $49960%

2008 Marketing Budget

THE major success

factor17%

A major success

factor50%

NOT a major

success factor33%

Overall, How Important is the Marketing of Your Business?

About a quarter of these small businesses have marketing budgets of $1000 or more

17% of small businesses feel that marketing is the major success factor, while a third feel that marketing is not a major success factor


A = Total Sample B = One Employee C = 2-10 Employees D = 10+ Employees

Marketing budget is positively correlated with business size

o Though the majority of small businesses have a budget of less than $500, over 40%spend more

o 10+ employee businesses are significantly more likely to have a marketing budget over $2500

• By contrast, single employee businesses are significantly more likely to have a marketing budget between $0 - $499

$0-$499 $500-$999 $1000-$2500 $2500+

59%

17%13%

10%

78%

14%

7%2%

40%

25%22%

13%19%

12%

23%

46%

What Was Your Total Marketing Budget for 2008?

ABC Significantly higher/lower than corresponding row at 95% confidence level

CD

BC

D

B B B


Decision-makers in larger companies are particularly likely to consider marketing important to the success of their businesses

17%

50%

33%

41%

69%

45%

14%

22%25%

53%

12%

19%

THE major success factor A major success factor NOT a major success factor

Total (A)

One Employee (B)

2-10 Employees (C )

10+ Employees (D)

Overall, How Important is the Marketing of Your Business?

88% of small businesses with 10+ employees consider the marketing of their business either the major success factor or a major success factor

• By contrast, 41% of single employee businesses feel the marketing of their business is not a major success factor

ABC Significantly higher/lower than corresponding row at 95% confidence level

B

BC


Small business decision-makers spend an average of four hours per week on marketing and advertisingo Decision-makers in small businesses with fewer employees tend to spend less time

and money on marketing and advertising • Decision-makers in single employee small businesses spend an average of 3 hours per week

on marketing/advertising• Decision-makers managing 10+ employees spend almost 7 hours per week on

marketing/advertising

3.0

5.2

6.9

One Employee (A) 2-10 Employees (B) 10+ Employees (C )

On Average, How Many Hours Per Week Do You Spend on

Marketing/ Advertising?

SB Average: 4.1 hours

ABC Significantly higher/lower than corresponding row at 95% confidence level.

BC


Email marketing is the most commonly used marketing tactic among small businesses in general

26%

22%

18%

15%

14%

11%

Email Marketing toCustomers/ Prospects

Yellow Pages

Social Online Media(Facebook, LinkedIn,

Twitter)

Electronic/ Online/ PaidSearch Advertising

Postcard Marketing,Catalogs, etc.

TV, Radio, and/ orTraditional Print Media

10%

11%

3%

3%

15%

12%

Yes, currently

Do You Use the Following Marketing Devices?

In the past, but not currently No, but plan to in the next 12 months

10%

5%

14%

11%

9%

6%

Social media seems to be a planned “next step” for many, while direct marketing (online and print) has a relatively high dropout rate

• Understanding why postcard/catalog marketing has a high dropout rate could help Vistaprint offer new solutions


Almost a third of 10+ employee businesses plan to try TV/radio/print advertising in the next year

31%

31%

31%

19%

54%

38%

14%

14%

20%

25%

32%

35%

6%

11%

10%

14%

11%

18%

12%

35%

4%

8%

19%

23%

18%

17%

4%

4%

15%

7%

9%

11%

3%

2%

7%

9%

Yes, currently

Do You Use the Following Marketing Devices?

In the past, but not currently

31%

4%

19%

15%

0%

0%

7%

12%

15%

13%

8%

12%

2%

8%

7%

14%

4%

10%

No, but plan to in the next 12 months

TV, Radio, and/ orTraditional Print Media

Postcard Marketing, Catalogs, etc.

Email Marketing toCustomers/ Prospects

Social Online Media(Facebook, Linkedin,

Twitter)

Electronic/ Online/Paid Search Ads

Yellow Pages

Significantly higher than corresponding rows at 95% confidence level.

A = One Employee B = 2-10 Employees C = 10+ Employees

Online/paid search and social media also seem to be areas of interest.


AB

28%

46%

69%

One Employee (A)2-10 Employees (B)10+ Employees (C)

Only 38% of small businesses have websites; likelihood to have one increases with business size

o Small businesses with 10+ employees are significantly more likely to have websites• Only 28% of single employee small businesses have a website

o Small businesses with marketing budgets less than $500 are significantly less likely to have a website, perhaps due to perceived or actual cost barriers

o Companies who expect to spend more on marketing in 2009 vs. 2008 are significantly more likely to have a website

Does Your Small Business Currently Have a Website? (% Yes)

ABC Significantly higher/lower than corresponding row at 95% confidence level.

A

SB Average: 38%


While no marketing tactic stands out as being overwhelmingly important, certain tactics are seen as more important than others by specific types of SB decision-makers

• Respondents with a marketing budget over $2500 are more likely to consider TV/radio/print media most important (20%)

• SB decision-makers who believe that marketing is the major success factor for their businesses are more likely to feel that online advertising/paid search is most important (20%)

• Unsurprisingly, under-30 SB decision-makers are more likely to think that social online media is most important (33% - caution: very small #)

Small businesses see direct email marketing to customers/ prospects as their most important marketing tool

19%

12%

8% 8% 7% 7%

38%

EmailMarketing toCustomers/Prospects

Yellow Pages TV, Radio,and/or

TraditionalPrint Media

PostcardMarketing,Catalogs,

etc.

Social OnlineMedia

(Facebook,LinkedIn,Twitter)

Electronic/Online/ Paid

SearchAdvertising

None of theabove

Which Marketing Tactic is Most Important to Your Business?


Almost half of small business decision-makers report testing their marketing campaigns

TotalOne

Employee (A)

2-10 Employees

(B)

10+ Employees

(C)

Yes 42% 36% 48% A 62% A

No 58% 64% BC 52% 38%

When You Engage in Marketing Campaigns, Do You Test the Results to Determine What Is and

Isn’t Working?

Single employee businesses are significantly less likely to test their marketing campaigns – only 36% report testing

• Additionally, companies with marketing budgets of less than $500 are significantly less likely to test their marketing campaigns

• Decision-makers who believe that marketing is not a major success factor are also less likely to test

Significant Difference within Group ABC. Upper case at 95%


1/3 of SMB decision-makers look to the Internet for information about marketing

34%

21%

8%4%

48%

11%

Internet/ Online Other SmallBusinesses in the

Area

Local Chambersof Commerce

Local SmallBusiness

AdministrationOffice

No one Other

Though almost half of the small business decision-makers say that they don’t regularly seek counsel on the topic, the internet and other SBs are the most common sources of marketing information

• “Other” sources of knowledge/ counsel about marketing include ad agencies, networking groups and customers

Who Do You Regularly Seek Knowledge or Counsel From with Regards to

Marketing Campaigns and Efforts?


The recession has led small businesses to increase their use of the marketing technique they see as most important – direct email

21%

12%9% 7% 6% 4%

56%

EmailMarketing toCustomers/Prospects

Social OnlineMedia

(Facebook,Blogging,

Twitter)

PostcardMarketing,

Catalogs, etc.

Yellow Pages Electronic/Online/ Paid

SearchAdvertising

TV, Radio,and/ or

TraditionalPrint Media

None

Although the majority of small business decision-makers are not increasing their marketing budgets during the recession, over 20% of respondents are increasing their use of direct email marketing campaigns

What methods of marketing have you used (more) because of the recession?


Small businesses would most like to spend additional money and time building their company websites

32%

19%

18%

14%

10%

9%

4%

33%

32%

17%

6%

25%

27%

22%

15%

25%

Building company website

Email marketing to customers/prospects

Social online media (Facebook, Twitter, blogging)

Postcard marketing/Catalogs

TV, Radio and/or traditional print media

Electronic/online/paid search advertising

Yellow Pages

None of the above

If more time If more money

Which of the Following Would You Do More of if You Had More Money/ Time to Spend?


Small business decision-makers would do more traditional and direct marketing if they had more money to spend

34%

15%

18%

20%

21%

14%

6%

33%

42%

2%

5%

7%

12%

12%

15%

31%

14%

16%

40%

23%

23%

9%

14%

12%

17%

25%

20%

35%

30%

21%

4%

31%

12%

31%

12%

15%

4%

23%

8%

19%

35%

35%

23%

38%

27%

23%

12%

27%

One Employee 2-10 Employees 10+ Employees

None of the Above

Building Company Website

Social Online Media (Facebook, Twitter,

Blogging)Email Marketing to Customers/

Prospects

Postcard Marketing,

Catalogs, etc.

Electronic/ Online/ Paid Search Advertising

TV, Radio, and/ or Traditional Print Media

Yellow Pages

If more time If more money

Which of the Following Would You Do More of if You Had More Money/ Time to Spend?

o Social media is seen as more of a time issue than a money issue


Summary and Implications


Summary and Implications

o Small businesses are using more direct email marketing because of the recession – since direct email is also seen as the “most important” marketing tool small businesses use, it may be that small businesses are shifting rather than cutting marketing investment

o Small businesses are interested in testing their marketing efforts – about half are doing so now

o When small businesses look for information about marketing, many look onlineo About a third of small businesses would spend more time and money on building

websites if they could• Only 38% of small businesses have a website currently

o About a third of small businesses would spend more time and money on building websites if they could

o Small businesses with 10+ employees tend to spend more money and time on marketing, use more marketing tools, and think of marketing as more important than businesses with fewer employees