Compiled Marketing Health Survey Results from First 70 Businesses

March 11, 2014

MayeCreate is conducting a marketing survey to better learn how Mid-Missouri businesses market their companies.  As we gather more data we will release a report with all of our findings.  Here’s a sneak peak at what we’ve found after surveying the first 70 businesses.  The businesses we’ve surveyed thus far are those we know or met at the recent Columbia Business Expo. The businesses span many industries, sizes and ages. The trends we found are consistent with our gut and other marketing research. However our current data is anything but complete, we’d like to gather data from at least 130 more businesses before concluding the study.  We thought you might be interested in knowing what we’ve discovered so far…

1. 40% of Businesses Surveyed Plan to Increase Spending on Online Marketing in the Next Year

Mediums in Which Businesses Plan to Increase Spending

Over the next year businesses plan to increase spending or begin participating in a variety of mediums.  18% plan to increase spending in a form of traditional mass media such as TV, radio or print publications.  Many businesses, 44% plan to increase spending on online marketing such as websites, social media, online advertisements, blogging or email marketing.  This trend is consistent with national trends displaying the growing acceptance and adoption of online marketing mediums.

2. Most Businesses Have a Website

Businesses Who Don’t Have a Website

The number of businesses without a website is decreasing at a rapid rate.  This makes us MayeCreaters happy because it looks like job security for us.  It also means that having a website is becoming a status quo among Mid-Missouri businesses.  There are so many ways to establish a website for your company, from do-it-yourself programs available online to companies like ours who build custom websites everyday.  Either way if you don’t have a site yet or are considering upgrading your site it’s often hard to get organized and know where to start, if you’re interested we offer a free e-book to get your website planning moving in the right direction.

3. Blogging is a Growing Trend

Businesses Who Have a Website And Blog

 

Blogging is a growing business trend, though 56% of those businesses surveyed that have a website do not include blogging in their marketing mix.  Of those that do blog 15% blog one to two times per month, 12.5% blog less than once per month, 7% blog weekly and 8% blog multiple times per week.  Blogging can be a confusing term to many people.  They think blogging is keeping an online diary and for some bloggers it is.  Business blogging is a different beast altogether.  Many business owners are doing anything but online journal entries and use their blog to drive valuable traffic to their website and create leads for their business.  If you’re interested or considering joining the ranks of business bloggers our free e-book Intro to Business Blogging answers many commonly asked questions about the do’s and don’ts of blogging for your business.

4. 32% of Businesses Send One to Two Marketing Emails Per Month

Businesses Who Do Email Marketing 

 

Over half of the businesses surveyed do use email marketing to supplement their marketing mix, though 44% do not engage in the activity.  Most businesses, 32%, are sending one to two emails per month, 8% email quarterly, 5% email multiple times per week or less than once per month and 4% email every other month.  Email marketing is another cave for spelunking in the world of online advertising.  There are tons of vendors and considerable strategy involved with the medium. Regardless of who you send your emails through you may find a jewel of wisdom in our Effective Email Marketing E-book about designing, writing and sending marketing emails.

5. 64% of Businesses Surveyed Use Facebook

Social Media Popularity

Social media is a growing trend among Mid-Missouri businesses though 34% of those surveyed do not use any form of social media to promote their business.  The majority of those surveyed, 64%, use Facebook, followed by 29% on Twitter, 18% on LinkedIn and 15% on Pinterest.  One of the things we are often asked by clients is,”how do I use Facebook to promote my business?” The answer is unique depending upon your situation, however, you can get some free insight on using Facebook for your business in our e-book.

6. 44% of Businesses Gather Between 1-5 Website Leads Per Month

Number of Qualified Website Leads Per Month

Many businesses are experiencing the benefits of having a website through online lead generation.  25% of businesses surveyed generate over 11 leads per month through their website but 22% don’t receive any online leads at all.  The majority of businesses, 44%, gather 1-5 leads on their website.

We hope you enjoyed our new found data and resource pairings, it will become even more relevant as we gather more!If you have not yet participated in the survey and would like to learn your score in exchange for a prescription on how to improve please participate in our Marketing Health Survey.

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