The Small Business Optimism Index from the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) reports a cautious outlook in its most recent update. Published quarterly, the report measured a decline in March. The index stands at 97.4, which is below the 51-​year average of 98. This state of affairs mean media sellers must roll out their best guidance on local advertising for small business.

Lower Sales, Big Challenges

Labor quality and inflation are two key issues reported by SMB owners. They’re being squeezed by higher costs. The net percentage of owners expecting higher sales has fallen for three consecutive months. Media sellers, this is your signal to pitch a winning proposal and help your accounts meet their challenges head on.

Your accounts know they need to roll out great local advertising for small business. 25% of SMBs told Constant Contact analysts that they will increase their marketing budget this year. Around 48% believe their top challenge will be customer acquisition. This challenge will lead them to target new customers in their campaigns.

First-​Year Challenges

All businesses struggle to gain new customers. But the challenge is acute in the first year of operations. 55% of SMBs state that finding customers is their biggest marketing challenge. A significant percentage, 63%, of small startups use social media as their primary marketing tool. 

Social Media

They believe they will find their customers spending time on social media. They also expect their social media investment will be low-​cost and a process they can management themselves. Unfortunately, social media alone is insufficient local advertising for small business.

SMB Media Channels

Constant Contact’s survey reveals the formats SMBs plan to use most this year. The results break out as follows:

• Social media (unpaid) 59%
• Email 33%
• Paid social ads 25%
• Review sites 24%
• Events 18%
• Paid local ads (radio, out-​of-​home) 15%

SMBs could be using email more effectively, analysts point out. It’s a proven channel that drives revenue. But they may need expert help to develop the right kinds of email campaigns.

Search vs. Social Media

A similar report by LocaliQ is based on input from 730 SMB owners. In this study, social media marketing (52%) and social media ads (47%) were the top choices for advertising.

One drawback of social media is the difficulty of measuring effectiveness. Only 40% of SMBs use search. But they report a 76% satisfaction rate – because they can measure their ROI.

This year, social media and search will be used by nearly 50% of SMBs that are not currently relying on these media channels.

The Need for Leads

SMBs also need reliable sources of leads. This need should be the major focus of local advertising for small businesses.

Around 50% claim digital marketing/​online advertising drives new customers. This is a great starting point, but customer referrals matter too. If you haven’t been encouraging your clients to collect and post recommendations, it’s time to start.

AI and SMBs

With limited resources, SMBs may feel they’ll never compete effectively with industry giants. To streamline processes, around 27% of SMB owners plan to use AI for tasks like content and idea generation.  [constant contact] 

The organizations most effectively using AI fall into the category of “growing SMBs” as defined by SalesForce. These advanced SMBs use AI tools for tasks such as marketing campaign optimization and content generation. They expect to increase their use of AI this year. Only 55% of “declining SMBS” say the same.

AI also allows SMB owners to do a better job of meeting customer expectations (63%) and building customer loyalty (61%).

If your accounts are not yet using AI, remind them that this technology, can improve their advertising outcomes and the bottom line.

Digital Consulting Needs

Around 60% of SMBs use at least one partner for marketing. They often can’t afford a full-​time marketing employee.

In addition, nearly half of new entrepreneurs “spend 1–5 hours” daily on marketing. This investment of time is unsustainable for SMB owners. They must also work in the business, develop new products and possibly hire employees.

All these accounts can benefit from your expertise. The B2B BuyerSCAN audience data, available with a subscription to AdMall, reveals 46% of SMBs want a vendor experienced in serving customers in their line of business. Show them your experience. Then coach them on how to expand beyond the media formats they’re comfortable with.

To sell local advertising for small business, you also need AdMall, the tool that provides all the industry intelligence you need.

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.