Small Businesses Choose Social Media and Mobile Technology Over Location Marketing
Location marketing is losing its lustre in the eyes of small business owners. It’s now being replaced by alternative marketing methods which include social media and mobile technology. This conclusion was made in a report by research and marketing company Constant Contact.
The report reveals that nearly all small business owners who have participated in it rely on social websites to promote and market their company. In contrast, less than 20% of them use location marketing or location-based services, which for most of them actually could bring better results.
Also, an increasing number of small businesses utilize mobile technology for marketing. Over 65% of the business owners who were surveyed for the purposes of the research have said that they presently rely on tablet PCs and smartphones to popularize their firms among consumers.
According to the report, small business’ wide use of these types of marketing tools has a simple explanation. Small companies are still trying to find their way through the rough economic patch. As a result, they prefer to rely on cheaper marketing alternatives like email and social media.
Mobile technologies are used more for daily tasks like business managing and sale solutions, but not yet that much for location marketing. Among the most popular apps used by small business owners are those that offer GPS, calendar, as well as consumer communications.
Nevertheless, some owners of small firms oppose this trend in marketing. Nearly 35% of all small business owners were found to stay away from more innovative alternatives like social websites. The main reason for this is that these owners believe that their target audience has little online social presence. Also, some of the participants in the study have stated that they are not utilizing social website marketing because of two reasons. The first of them is that they do not have enough experience and knowledge in the field. The second one is that they do not have the time for social marketing, which is indeed very much time-consuming. In addition, if a small business depends on its location, the probability to reach the prospective customers in the neighbourhood is very slim.
The report adds that, due to their limited capacity, small companies are pressed when it comes to time. That is why they do not wish to spend it on familiarizing themselves with things like mobile technology and social platforms. In addition, some of the respondents in the survey had so little knowledge on the topic that they were even reported to have said that social media and mobile marketing are pricey, as much as location marketing. Moreover, some had absolutely no idea what these things actually are.
The research was conducted this March and it was based on the responses of more than 1,300 small business owners.
