Looking at the responses to a CallRail survey of 600 US-based small- to medium-sized businesses across various industries, confirmed what we already knew: the pandemic forever changed business as we knew it (doh!). But we didn’t expect so much of the news to be good.
For marketing agencies, the news is better than good. And I can’t imagine that the results would be much different here in the UK if our experience here at Caspia is anything to go by.
Among current and potential clients, 33% said the pandemic did not affect their business. 11% actually grew their businesses during lockdown. And 80% say they’ve fully recovered, they’re ready to spend more – and they’d rather leave the marketing to an agency.
1. 96% of SMBs (SMEs in the UK) are willing to pay agencies more for consultative services
A whopping 96% of respondents say they would be willing to pay agencies for additional services to improve their business outside of marketing – such as customer service workshops, sales training or brand coaching (you know where we are!).
2. SMBs with agencies didn’t just weather the pandemic – they grew
As businesses scrambled to cut back during the pandemic, those without marketing agencies paid a price. SMB owners with agencies were 82% more likely to say that they grew their business during the pandemic.
But that’s not all. Although only 11% of the SMB owners currently work with a marketing agency, 45% of DIY marketers say they’re likely to hire one in the future.
3. SMB owners would rather leave the marketing to someone else
Almost 50% of small business owners say that they do all of their own marketing, and they spend an average of 20 hours a week doing it. Seems like a lot, doesn’t it? 74% of survey respondents agree – they’d rather focus on ‘primary business responsibilities’, such as spending time with customers and helping staff exceed expectations.
They wear ill-fitting marketing hats because they know their marketing presence is important, not because they want to.
What’s more, 93% of SMBs who hired an internal marketer said they’d probably still engage an external agency. 67% who hired an internal marketer wish they’d just hired an agency instead.
Here at Caspia, our team’s not just good at marketing; they enjoy it. And by relieving the marketing burden from business owners – not just the strategy and marketing plan development, but implementations like updating websites, creating content, launching ad campaigns – we give them back time and energy to focus on customer service, satisfaction and retention.
Call Pam on +44 207 099 4907 or email pamvick@caspiaconsultancy.co.uk to find out more about how we can help your business.