The latest Survey of Advertising and Marketing from BIA Advisory Services reveals that 37% of retail small and medium-​sized businesses earn half of their revenue from their online efforts. That’s a huge number and indicates that your SMB clients should be advertising more online, especially with paid search. 

SMB Marketing

Keep in mind that the August 2018 CMO Survey produced by Deloitte, the AMA and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business indicates that the average online revenue for all businesses is about 12.2%. The rate is highest for business-​to-​consumer products, think apparel, at over 15%. 

Your clients may be selling online at a number of different sites. For example, they may sell directly to consumers through their own ecommerce site. They may also be selling on marketplaces like eBay or Amazon. When SMBs sell on multiple marketplaces, they should be buying search advertising on each site.

Your clients still need to connect with their target audiences, especially if they are selling both in traditional stores and online. BIA’s Survey of Advertising and Marketing notes that retail SMBs now use up to 9 formats for local advertising. Over half of the ad budget for these businesses is spent on online format. Email, search and paid social media are the go-​to formats for the typical SMB owner who’s seeking a greater online presence. Reps who sell traditional media shouldn’t despair. These businesses are still using plenty of traditional media, especially cable TV and out-​of-​home. But with search marketing continuing to be so important, it’s worth checking out how your clients are allocating that part of their budgets. 

The Power of Amazon

Earlier this month, Feedvisor reported that nearly 60% of brands that sell on Amazon are also buying advertising on the site.  And, half of these brands are spending $40,000 a month buying ads on Amazon.

Your clients may not be spending those sums on the giant marketplace, but they should know what their competitors are doing. And, this is especially important if your clients have a seller’s site on Amazon.  Currently, brands say their goal in advertising on Amazon is to:

• Attract new customers 74%
• Drive brand awareness 59%
• Generate leads 49%
• Drive sales 45%

If your clients are selling on Amazon, remind them that part of their ad budget belongs there, too. To see who searches on Amazon, and to understand the purchase intent of these consumers, check out the AudienceSCAN profile available on AdMall from SalesFuel. That data will allow you to start a conversation with your clients.