Marketing is the most likely activity ANZ SMBs will delay undertaking, with 13 per cent saying they always procrastinate on marketing tasks – the highest among all polled regions – and 46 per cent saying they “regularly” procrastinate. Combined, 59 per cent of local SMBs always or regularly procrastinate; the most among polled regions.
The Small Business Now: The State of SMB Marketing report from Constant Contact, found that ANZ SMBs are cognisant they need to do more on the marketing front this year, with an uncertain economy spurring many of them to double down on marketing in 2024. ANZ SMBs are more likely than any other country polled to spend more time on marketing, increase their budgets, and the number of marketing channels they use in 2024.
Key Findings:
- Constant Contact’s global SMB report reveals 50 per cent of Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) businesses spend less than $15,000 per year on marketing, and 23 per cent spend less than $1,500
- 59 per cent of local SMBs always or regularly procrastinate when it comes to marketing themselves; the most among polled regions
- To counter this, 46 per cent of ANZ businesses expect to increase marketing spend this year, which is the highest of any country polled, and 48 per cent plan to boost budgets by at least 10 per cent
It’s perhaps no coincidence then that 58 per cent of ANZ SMBs spend less than one hour per day on marketing, tied with Canada for the least time spent per day.
“Part of the reason local SMBs put off marketing more than any other task is because they see it as a challenge, which is understandable as it’s not an area of expertise for many SMB owners,” said Chaplin.
Constant Contact’s study also found that customer retention is among the most pressing concerns for SMBs in ANZ, especially when compared to other regions. More than one-third cite retention as the top challenge for their business in 2024, and the second-biggest overall marketing challenge.
The study also found ANZ SMBs are most likely of any country polled to use email marketing (59 per cent) as their primary marketing channel, followed closely by social media (58 per cent). However, these channels work best when used in tandem with other marketing efforts, like SMS and events. ANZ SMBs understand this, as 85 per cent agree that using multiple channels in a marketing campaign typically leads to better results. Unfortunately, just 17 per cent say they are always running multichannel campaigns.
As expected, the top issue preventing ANZ SMBs from adding more channels to their marketing mix is a lack of knowledge (37 per cent), which is higher than any other region polled. And 40 per cent of respondents acknowledged they need to work more efficiently to achieve marketing goals this year – again, the highest of any region polled.
“Small business owners are usually much more passionate about their products and services than they are about marketing, but they still need to attract and retain customers to grow,” said Sarah Jordan, chief marketing officer at Constant Contact. “Our research shows that while most SMBs recognise the importance of marketing, they often lack the time and expertise to be effective, especially in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. Constant Contact is committed to providing easy, yet powerful, tools that automate marketing to help our customers achieve better results in less time.”
The tide is set to turn on the region’s marketing efforts this year
Amid the level of procrastination and lack of marketing knowledge, Constant Contact’s Small Business Now report found that SMB owners across the region are proactively looking to do more this year on the marketing front.
In fact, SMBs across ANZ are the most likely among polled regions to spend more time on marketing this year (51 per cent), increase their marketing budgets (46 per cent), and increase the number of marketing channels they use (47 per cent).
Furthermore, 48 per cent of ANZ SMBs plan to increase their marketing budgets by at least 10 per cent YoY — second only to the US (54 per cent).
“The key to success will be how SMBs spend an increasing budget and, more importantly, into what channel they focus that budget,” said Chaplin. “If they do this effectively, business owners might see marketing challenges decrease which in turn will help them better attract and retain customers, helping to ward off economic concerns.”
