Small Business Owners Say Consistency of Online and Offline Marketing Can Boost the Bottom Line

Vistaprint Digital's Marketing Mix Report Provides Key Insights into How Business Owners Balance Print and Digital Priorities

WALTHAM, Mass., Nov. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As Small Business Saturday and the holiday shopping season rapidly approach, it is crucial for small business owners to capitalize on every opportunity to boost their bottom line. To better understand how these proprietors prioritize marketing resources to maximize results during the holidays and year-round, Vistaprint Digital recently surveyed 1,000 U.S. small business owners with fewer than 10 employees (micro businesses) and released the findings today in the Vistaprint Digital Micro Business Marketing Mix Report.
Of the micro business owners surveyed, 68.8% said they market their business online and offline, addressing consumers' expectation and demand for access to brands in both the digital and physical worlds. Despite this high percentage, micro business owners recognize more can be done to maximize results as nearly 33% say a more visually consistent online and offline marketing identity would have a substantial financial impact on their businesses. Looking closer at business tactics, 37% of micro business owners believe that having sufficient time to spend on marketing is very important, and 37.9% believe that it is fairly important. However, with the time investment comes a cost, and the majority of respondents believe that balancing the financial spend between online and offline is fairly important when it comes to marketing their business.
"In conducting this study, we found that more than a quarter (28.9%) of business owners said they do not market their businesses both online and offline," said D. Scott Bowen, vice president and general manager of Vistaprint Digital. "The combination of online and offline marketing efforts is extremely powerful, yet these efforts can all too often take a backseat to other aspects of running a small business. Despite investment of time and money, we're finding that those who prioritize consistent print and digital marketing see a significant ROI and will get a leg up on competitors this holiday shopping season and beyond."
Additional notable findings within the report include:

• 52.7% of micro business owners ranked managing their online presence as very important, while 30.4% ranked it as fairly important.
• The channel micro business owners report using as their primary means for marketing their business varies. Social media (53.3%) and websites (32.7%) dominate, whereas online ads (6.6%) and online directories (5%) significantly lag behind as priority marketing channels.
• Female micro business owners (63.9%) are more likely than male (44%) to use social media as a main way to market their business online.
• Conversely, male micro business owners (40.3%) are more likely than female micro business owners (24.2%) to use a website as the main way to market online.
• Business cards are the primary offline marketing tactic (51.1%), with print advertising (11.3%), and signage (6.7%), trailing behind as the reported primary means of marketing.

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/small-business-owners-say-consistency-of-online-and-offline-marketing-can-boost-the-bottom-line-300363135.html