- SMBs are concerned about “attracting new customers”
- SMBs are spending more on digital marketing
- Local search is on fire
- Local consumers have a high intent to buy
- SMBs are not succeeding with their current websites
- Local mobile searchers have a higher purchase intent and take action sooner
- The Year of The Mobile has finally arrived
- How Consumers Feel about Mobile
- SMBs’ Attitude toward Mobile
I love statistics. Not for the sake of themselves, but because of what they tell me. Statistics tell a story—but only to those who know how to interpret them correctly.
For example, from my days of managing a telemarketing department, I know that a successful appointment setter should be able to make at least 90 calls a day, speak to eight decision-makers, and set at least two appointments. When those statistics waver, it tells me what’s going on and what needs to be addressed:
- If the appointment setter isn’t setting the allotted two appointments, then something’s amiss with his or her presentation. The issue is skill, or lack thereof.
- If the appointment setter isn’t speaking to enough decision-makers, the issue is lack of follow-up.
- If the appointment setter isn’t making enough calls, it’s lack of effort.
Marketing statistics also tell a story. Unfortunately, like a good episode of CSI, the average small business owner needs a little help following the plot. There’s a sales axiom that goes, “Facts tell, but stories sell.” You’ll need to weave the facts I’m about to share into a narrative that conveys how much revenue your prospect is losing every moment he delays. Without further ado, here are 32 Marketing Stats You Need to Know.
SMBs are concerned about “attracting new customers”
- 76% say it’s their “top concern”
- 69% say it’s the “#1 challenge they face”
Constant Contact Small Business Pulse Survey, 2012
SMBs are spending more on digital marketing
- 40% of SMBs expect to increase digital spend in next 12 months
- SMBs will spend 1/3 of their marketing budget on digital media—to the tune of $9 billion
- SMBs are using almost 2x more digital media channels today vs. 5 years ago
BIA/Kelsey: Annual Local Commerce Monitor Survey, Oct. 2012
Local search is on fire
- 20% of the more than four billion searches conducted on Google each day are local searches; 50% of mobile search is local (Google announcement at TechCrunch Disrupt in NYC, May 25, 2011)
- 58% of smartphone users look for local information at least once a week; 27% look daily (Our Mobile Planet: Understanding the Mobile Consumer Google/Ipsos OTX MediaCT, May 2012)
Local consumers have a high intent to buy
- 75% of consumer spending occurs within 15 miles of the average American’s front door (US Census data)
- 60% make a purchase from the business they found online (comScore, 2011)
SMBs are not succeeding with their current websites
SMB DigitalScape and BIA Kelsey analyzed more than 1 million SMB websites around the world in 14 countries, including 700,000 in the U.S., and found that:
- 60% were missing either a toll-free or local telephone number on the home page
- 65.7 percent had no form-fill option to allow consumers to request information
- 74.7% were missing an email contact link on the home page
- 56% have no on-page keyword information
- 26.4% can’t be found in an online search
- 93.3% are not optimized for mobile
Local mobile searchers have a higher purchase intent and take action sooner
- 61 % call
- 59% visit
- 36% make in-store purchase
(The Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users,” Google/Ipsos OTX, 2010)
- 70% of mobile searchers take action within one hour
- 90% within 24 hours
(Mobile Marketer, 2012)
The Year of The Mobile has finally arrived
- Mobile web browsing accounted for 30% of all web traffic in 2012 and is expected to account for 50% by 2014. (Nucleus Research via SourceCon)
- Smartphones are used equally if not more in the home vs. outside (2013 US Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study)
- 58% of affluent consumers use smartphones while watching TV (Ipsos MediaCT)
- Mobile searches will surpass desktop searches by 2015 (BIA/Kelsey, 2012)
- 46 % of adults do not consult their PC as part of the pre-purchase research, relying exclusively on their smartphones or tablets (2013 US Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study)
- 33% use their smartphones and tablets throughout the entire purchase process (2013 US Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study)
How Consumers Feel about Mobile
- 38% are more likely to contact a local business that has a mobile site
- 57% say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly-designed mobile site
- 61% will leave a non-mobile site for a competitor’s whose is
Constant Contact: Why Small Business Owners Need to Pay Attention to Mobile and Local Search
SMBs’ Attitude toward Mobile
- 84% believe that having a website that can easily be viewed on a mobile device is important to their business (Constant Contact: Why Small Business Owners Need to Pay Attention to Mobile and Local Search)
- 85% feel that more consumers will find their business on mobile sites in the future (Constant Contact: Why Small Business Owners Need to Pay Attention to Mobile and Local Search)
- Yet only 33% have a mobile-optimized website (The Smartphone User and the Mobile Marketer, Ipsos/TNS, June 2011)
Learning the proper use of statistics during a sales appointment take practice. Use them to bridge the gap between what you’re selling and your prospect’s understanding of how it impacts on their bottom line.
John TabitaFormer owner and partner of web firm Jenesis Technologies, John is currently Director of Digital Strategy at Haines Local Search, a company providing local search marketing solutions to SMBs, including print and Internet Yellow Pages, web design, and local SEO. When not working or spending time with his family, John offers great sales and marketing advice on his blog, Small Business Marketing Sucks. When not working or spending time with his family, John offers great sales and marketing advice on his blog, Small Business Marketing Sucks.
