Small Business Revenue on the Rise According to New Constant Contact Survey
May 12 2014 - 9:20AM
Business Wire
Despite economic pressures to reduce costs,
small business commitment to marketing remains high
“Doing more with less” has become a common refrain in America
over the last few years and new survey data from Constant Contact®,
Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCT), released in conjunction with Small Business
Week, indicates that small businesses are getting quite good at
doing just that. Small businesses surveyed reported a strong 2013,
with almost 40 percent saying their revenues increased 10 percent
or more over 2012, despite the fact that 65 percent have had to
make concessions to economic pressures, from reducing operating
costs and marketing budgets, to changing their offerings, and more.
The 2013 revenue upswing has small business owners feeling
optimistic about what lies ahead, with an overwhelming majority (81
percent) expecting revenues to continue to rise in 2014.
Cautiously OptimisticWhen asked what their revenue
expectations are for the next 12 months:
- 13 percent expect their revenues to
increase more than 25 percent
- 38 percent expect to their revenues to
increase 10 to 25 percent
- 30 percent expect their revenues to
increase less than 10 percent
Fifteen percent expect their revenue to remain flat, while only
four percent expect revenue to decrease.
“It’s encouraging to see that small businesses expect their
revenue growth to extend into 2014,” said Gail Goodman, CEO of
Constant Contact. “This optimistic outlook is not translating into
larger staffs, however. Almost half (49 percent) tell us they will
not be hiring over the next 12 months, with 27 percent saying they
plan to hire, and the balance telling us they’re not sure what they
will do. On the plus side, only eight percent report having to lay
off employees in the last 12 months, which could be viewed as a
positive outcome of their conservative hiring approach.”
Committed MarketersMarketing is a top priority of small
businesses. On average respondents reported having two employees
(including themselves) spend 20 hours per week focusing on
marketing activities. Additionally, almost half (49 percent) work
with three to four marketing vendors, representing a significant
investment of time and money to manage and coordinate
campaigns.
Small businesses are taking advantage of the many opportunities
presented by multiple marketing channels, with 82 percent of those
surveyed saying they have adopted multi-channel marketing programs,
meaning they are using a combination of channels like email,
mobile, and social media to reach their customers. The fact that 73
percent of them say their efforts have been successful may be a
reason why the adoption is so high, as could the availability of
emerging technologies like the Constant Contact Toolkit™, which
brings together in one place all of the online marketing tools
needed to drive new and repeat customers across key channels.
When asked how their multi-channel marketing has been
successful, respondents cited:
- More customer engagement (73
percent)
- More new customers (57 percent)
- More website traffic (54 percent)
- Increased event attendance (42
percent)
- More revenue (40 percent)
- More referrals (39 percent)
Challenges of Multi-Channel MarketingHowever, for the 27
percent who have not achieved success with their multi-channel
marketing efforts, their most-cited reasons are:
- Don’t know if their customers are using
all the channels (59 percent)
- Don’t know how to measure success
across all the channels (35 percent)
- Find it too time-consuming to get
everything done across all the platforms (32 percent)
Survey respondents also pointed out the hassles of learning how
to use different interfaces (48 percent) and keeping a consistent
look and feel (46 percent) across channels.
“With the greater opportunities presented by multi-channel
marketing come some challenges,” said Goodman. “Most small business
owners are not marketing professionals and many tell us that the
flood of new marketing tools, along with the need to be everywhere
their customers are, from search engines, to mobile devices, to
friends’ newsfeeds, can really be overwhelming. This is why we
recently launched Toolkit, an all-in-one online marketing platform
that offers small businesses a new way to connect with their
customers and reach new ones in the places that matter, like email,
social, mobile and the web. For the first time, small businesses
can run multiple online marketing campaigns from one place,
affordably and easily, and without multiple marketing vendors.
Toolkit is a real game changer, especially when you consider how
small businesses are being tasked to do more with less.”
About the DataThis Constant Contact data was compiled
from a survey administered in March 2014 to 1,305 participants in
the Constant Contact Small Biz Council – a research panel of US
small businesses and nonprofits recruited from the Constant Contact
customer base. The survey is part of an ongoing series about the
state of small businesses and the ways they connect with, and grow,
their audiences.
About Constant Contact®, Inc.Constant Contact helps small
businesses do more business. We have been revolutionizing the
success formula for small businesses, nonprofits, and associations
since 1998, and today work with more than 600,000 customers
worldwide. The company offers the only all-in-one online marketing
platform that helps small businesses drive repeat business and find
new customers. It features multi-channel marketing campaigns
(newsletters/announcements, offers/promotions, online listings,
events/registration, and feedback) combined with shared content,
contacts, and reporting; free award-winning coaching and product
support; and integrations with critical business tools – all from a
single login. The company’s extensive network of educators,
consultants/resellers, technology providers, franchises, and
national associations offer further support to help small
organizations succeed and grow. Through its Innovation Loft,
Constant Contact is fueling the next generation of small business
technology.
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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