Engaging SMBs with Email Newsletters
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This document reports on the results of a survey of 312 small and medium sized business principals in the United States about their business outlook, challenges, preferred topics and formats for receiving business advice. Some key findings include: three quarters of SMBs expect revenue to increase in 2017, top challenges are customer acquisition and cost management; SMBs most often seek information online about technology and industry trends; email newsletters are a highly useful format for receiving business tips and advice, especially for very small businesses. The report provides additional details on preferences by company size and respondent age.
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Engaging SMBs with Email Newsletters
- 1. Engaging SMBs with Email Newsletters September 7, 2017 Bredin Bredin.com
- 2. Increasing Sales to SMBs INSIGHT LEAD GEN CONTENT SALES SUPPORT 2
- 3. How • 15-minute online survey Who • 312 SMB Principals from U.S. companies with 1 to 500 employees • 105 with 1-19 employees (97.7% weighting) • 104 with 20-99 employees (1.9% weighting) • 103 with 100-500 employees (.3% weighting) • Any industry • See slides 37-41 for participant demographics When • July 31 - August 18, 2017 1 2 3 3 Methodology
- 4. Research Objective 4 Business outlook and challenges Preferred topics and formats Email newsletter engagement Email newsletter benefits Help marketers optimize their SMB email newsletter program
- 5. Business Outlook and Challenges
- 6. 6 2017 Revenue Outlook n=303 Almost three quarters of SMBs expect an up year 42% 32% 19% 4% 2% Up more than 10% Up, by less than 10% Same as 2016 Down, by less than 10% Down more than 10%
- 7. 7 Business Challenges Keeping my company data secure Developing new products and services Dealing with competition Dealing with government regulation Having enough money to pay our bills Finding good employees Staying current on technology solutions for my business Retaining good employees Boosting profitability Staying in business Retaining / increasing sales to current customers Managing costs Finding new customers 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Please rank-order these business challenges from most pressing (top) to least pressing (bottom): n=303 Top three Customer acquisition and cost management are top challenges
- 8. 8 Business Challenges: Company Size Keeping my company data secure Developing new products and services Dealing with competition Dealing with government regulation Having enough money to pay our bills Finding good employees Staying current on technology solutions for my business Retaining good employees Boosting profitability Staying in business Retaining / increasing sales to current customers Managing costs Finding new customers 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 1-19 20-99 100-500 Please rank-order these business challenges from most pressing (top) to least pressing (bottom): n=308 Top three VSBs and SBs focus on finding customers; MBs on costs
- 9. 9 Keeping my company data secure Developing new products and services Dealing with competition Dealing with government regulation Having enough money to pay our bills Finding good employees Staying current on technology solutions for my business Retaining good employees Boosting profitability Staying in business Retaining / increasing sales to current customers Managing costs Finding new customers 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 18-34 35-49 50+ n=303 Top three Millennial SBOs focus on employee retention, costs and innovation Business Challenges: Respondent Age Please rank-order these business challenges from most pressing (top) to least pressing (bottom):
- 11. 11 Preferred Topics: General Import / export Human resources Leadership and management Operations Financial planning and management Law and taxes Sales and marketing Industry news and trends Technology 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% On a scale of 1 (never) to 5 (very often), how often do you go online to find content on the following topics to help you manage and grow your business? n=309 Top two box SMBs most often seek technology and industry-specific content
- 12. 12 Preferred Topics: General: Company Size On a scale of 1 (never) to 5 (very often), how often do you go online to find content on the following topics to help you manage and grow your business? n=310 Top two box Topic interest increases with company size Import / export Human resources Leadership and management Operations Financial planning and management Law and taxes Sales and marketing Industry news and trends Technology 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 1-19 20-99 100-500
- 13. 13 Preferred Topics: General: Respondent Age On a scale of 1 (never) to 5 (very often), how often do you go online to find content on the following topics to help you manage and grow your business? n=309 Top two box Millennial SBOs are most interested in law and taxes Import / export Human resources Leadership and management Operations Financial planning and management Law and taxes Sales and marketing Industry news and trends Technology 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 18-34 35-49 50+
- 14. 14 Preferred Topics: Bank Human resources Import / export Sales and marketing Law and taxes Operations Technology Leadership and management Industry news and trends Financial planning and management 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% On the same scale, how often do you go to your bank’s website to find content on the following topics to help you manage and grow your business? n=303 Top two box SMBs prefer financial advice from their bank
- 15. 15 Preferred Formats: General LinkedIn post Audio podcast Blog post Twitter Facebook post Infographic White paper Video Case study Interactive tool Online eBook / guide / handbook Peer forum or discussion board Analyst report Webinar / webcast Checklist / worksheet Research report Email newsletter Printed sheet, booklet or guide Article 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% On a scale of 1 (not useful) to 5 (very useful), how would you rate each of these formats as a way to obtain business management tips and advice? n=309 Top two box Email newsletters are tied for second-favorite format
- 16. 16 Preferred Formats: General: Company Size On a scale of 1 (not useful) to 5 (very useful), how would you rate each of these formats as a way to obtain business management tips and advice? n=308 Top two box SBs and SMBs are much more receptive to every format LinkedIn post Audio podcast Blog post Twitter Facebook post Infographic White paper Video Case study Interactive tool Online eBook / guide / handbook Peer forum or discussion board Analyst report Checklist / worksheet Webinar / webcast Research report Email newsletter Printed sheet, booklet or guide Article 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 1-19 20-99 100-500
- 17. Want to view the rest of the report or request a one-on- one walkthrough? Contact us at: info@bredin.com