The 10 Marketing Statistics You Must Know for Small Business Marketing Success

Small business marketing success can sometimes feel elusive.

As a small business owner do you every struggle to identify where you should be focusing your marketing efforts?

You want to generate more high-quality leads and make sure you are maximizing your return on investment, but where should you start?

The statistics below will give you some ideas where you might want to start...

1. Nearly 60% of searches are now from a mobile device.

Why is this important for you?  With more people searching for businesses on their mobile device, it is critical your website provides a solid mobile experience. This is directly correlated to stat #1, but mobile users are even more impatient than desktop users.

If a mobile user visits your site and can't view or navigate it easily, they will leave almost immediately and find a competitor who has a better website. Your website must be responsive (mobile friendly) and provide easy access to the most important information a mobile visitor may be looking for.

Why is this important for you?  Three times as many leads! That's why it's important. Many people say content marketing is king, but I like John Jantsch's saying... content marketing is air .

If content marketing is not a main part of your marketing efforts it is going to become difficult to breathe relatively quickly. If your business can't breathe, it will die.

Where should you start? I think the best place for small businesses to jump into content marketing is with a blog. Start writing articles that will be helpful and educational for your ideal clients. Content marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Be patient and consistent. Your business will be rewarded in the long run.

Why is this important for you?  Yes, I repeated stat #2...because it highlights another key point to remember.

Are you spending any of your marketing dollars on mobile marketing? If you want to reach customers and prospects on the one device that is always with them, always on and always connected, then you need to consider mobile marketing. With more people accessing information via their mobile device you are missing a large segment of potential customers without mobile marketing.

Need help getting started? Check out this article with 7 Super Easy Mobile Marketing Tips for Small Businesses.

Why is this important for you?  Have you spent any time getting more online reviews? Online reviews are critical to the online reputation of your company. Not only are 92% of consumers reading online reviews, but they are making buying decisions from those reviews. 

If you don't have a number of recent, high-quality reviews it is costing you business! Now is the time to start focusing more efforts on your reputation management plan and we've got you covered...check out this article for some online reputation management tips.

Why is this important for you? The closing ratio for a referred prospect is much higher than any other type of lead you will ever receive, making referral leads like gold for your business. You may be getting a lot of referrals now, but are you maximizing your referral numbers?

Without an established referral system for your business, the answer is "no". Check out Why Every Business Needs a Referral System for some great tips to get started.

Why is this important for you? Your email marketing messages MUST be easy to read on smaller screen sizes, otherwise, they are being deleted. 

Translation...your email marketing messages must be mobile friendly to maximize open rates and engagement. Check out the two examples below.

What's wrong with example 1? It's well laid out and very professional looking but take a closer look. The navigation at the top is small. Are you one of those people with large fingers? Good luck hitting the navigation buttons at the top of this email.

Check out the other text in this email. The headings are large and easy to read, but a lot of the other text is pretty small and could be difficult to read for a lot of people. There is also a lot going on in example 1 and they might benefit by reducing the amount of information being communicated. Contrast this with example 2 below...

• Keep images to a minimum.
• Make text larger (at least 14-16 point if possible).
• Any buttons should be large enough for anyone to easily select.
• Make calls to action easy to execute on mobile.
• Any links within the email should go to mobile-friendly pages.

Why is this important for you? Consumers performing local searches are ready to buy, but are they finding your business? If you own a local business where the majority of your customers come from a set geographic location, you need to have local SEO in your marketing plan. 

Local SEO focuses on directory listings, online reviews, location-specific content marketing, and other techniques to help your small business get found. The Google 3 Pack is a local listing of 3 businesses that display in local search results. Check out the "highlands ranch painters" example below.

This is prime real estate and the only way you have a chance of making this list is with some effort spent on local SEO. Want more info? Check out this article on 5 Simple Ways to Dominate Local Search.

• Mailerlite 
• ActiveCampaign 
• Mailchimp 
• Constant Contact 
• Aweber

Why is this important for you?  If your business is not being found on page one of the search results you are losing business. There are multiple ways to be found on page 1...organic SEO, local SEO, or paid ads.

You may choose to some or all of these, but finding a way to show up on page one will have a positive, lasting impact on your small business.

Small business marketing success doesn't have to be elusive, but you must think strategy before tactics. If you need help creating your marketing strategy don't be afraid to seek the assistance you need. It will save you a ton of time and money in the long term.

Did you find this helpful? Feel free to comment below and share.

Header image courtesy of Jumpstory.