Mobile payments and social media expansion will
add to marketing strategies for small businesses on par with large
brands
As 2013 ticks away, Constant Contact®, Inc. (NASDAQ:
CTCT) is looking toward 2014 and making its predictions for
what’s to come for small businesses. At the top of the list is
this: 2014 will be the year small businesses take what they have
learned from experimenting with social media and mobile strategies
and make the move to executing multi-channel marketing
initiatives.
“Single channel marketing actions will transform to integrated
marketing campaigns for small businesses,” said Gail Goodman, CEO
of Constant Contact. “This move to cross-channel marketing will
allow small businesses to connect more effectively with their
customers – and the positive impact on their bottom line will
forever change how they approach their marketing efforts.”
As small businesses look to progress toward multi-channel
marketing in the coming year, here are Constant Contact’s top three
small business marketing predictions for 2014:
#1 - Small businesses will benefit from Big Data
insights
Small businesses have access to plenty of data, from sales
receipts, to Facebook Insights, to Google Analytics, and much more.
2014 is the year when there will be new understanding on how this
data can help their business, as they did with mobile two years ago
and social media five years ago. Small businesses will find more
insights they can quickly use to their benefit, such as what time
of day is best to send out their email marketing campaigns and what
types of social media content sparks the most engagement for their
business. And the importance of mobile will come into sharp
perspective as small businesses learn how many of their email
marketing opens occur on mobile devices. With these insights, small
businesses will run smarter, more affordable, and more successful
marketing campaigns.
"Understandably, small businesses don’t often have dedicated
teams to leverage Big Data assets - but there will be greater
attention given to how insights can be leveraged in 2014,” said
Jesse Harriott, chief analytics officer of Constant Contact. “Small
businesses will benefit from the practical insights companies like
Constant Contact pull from data, helping small businesses to see
around the corners. And that will be a game-changer.”
#2 – With strong consumer demand, mobile commerce becomes the
norm, not the exception, for small businesses
In 2013, small businesses started experimenting with mobile
business practices to target a rapidly growing consumer base of
users that, according to ABI Research, is expected to reach 1.4
billion by the start of 2014. With 66 percent of small businesses
currently using a mobile device, small businesses in the coming
year will need to quickly react to growing consumer mobile
expectations and implement mobile payment processes. The
point-of-sale (POS) will benefit most from mobile payments,
becoming mainstream for small businesses. A Constant Contact survey
found that just over half (52 percent) of small businesses used a
mobile POS last year, and that number should rise significantly as
mobile payments become commonplace.
“2014 is the year the mobile commerce becomes standard for small
businesses,” said Andy Miller, director of innovation at Constant
Contact. “Small businesses will need to react quickly to the shift
in consumer expectations, as consumers will demand mobile POS and
payments in droves from businesses large and small. The good news
for small businesses is that the technology driving mobile POS has
come a long way in the past few years, and ‘going mobile’ with POS
is not a behemoth task to accomplish.”
#3 –Small businesses will show, not tell, on social
media
Over the last few years, social media marketing for small
businesses has continued to trend upward. In a recent Constant
Contact survey, small businesses continued to rate the “big three”
social media channels (Facebook®, Twitter, and LinkedIn) most
effective for their organization. That said, a variety of newer,
more visually focused channels, like Pinterest and YouTube, also
experienced growth in effectiveness ratings from small businesses
users, suggesting that the way small businesses engage with their
customers on social channels will shift. With consumer attention
spans getting shorter, sharable and visual content will play an
increasingly important role in a small business marketing strategy.
A powerful image or video will carry much more weight across social
networks with small businesses creating more visually inspired
marketing campaigns with fewer words.
“Earlier this year, we saw a rise in visual social media
platforms like YouTube and Pinterest coming in just behind the big
three in adoption growth among small businesses,” said Mark
Schmulen, general manager of social media at Constant Contact. “In
2014, a picture truly will be worth a thousand words as small
businesses increase their adoption of visual-based social networks
like Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr, and Slideshare.”
For information on the latest trends and tips on small business
marketing follow the Constant Contact blog:
http://blogs.constantcontact.com/.
About Constant Contact®, Inc.
Constant Contact wrote the book on Engagement Marketing™ – the
new marketing success formula that helps small organizations create
and grow customer relationships in today’s socially connected
world. More than half a million small businesses, nonprofits and
associations worldwide use the company’s online marketing tools to
generate new customers, repeat business, and referrals through
email marketing, social media marketing, event marketing, local
deals, digital storefronts, and online surveys. Only Constant
Contact offers the proven combination of affordable tools and free
KnowHow®, including local seminars, personal coaching and
award-winning product support. The company further supports small
organizations through its extensive network of
consultants/resellers, technology providers, franchises and
national associations.
Constant Contact and the Constant Contact Logo are registered
trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All Constant Contact product
names and other brand names mentioned herein are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All other company
and product names may be trademarks or service marks of their
respective owners.
(CTCT-F)
Constant ContactMedia Contact:Erika Tower,
781-482-7039pr@constantcontact.comorInvestor
Contact:Jeremiah Sisitsky,
339-222-5740ir@constantcontact.com
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