2015 Infusionsoft Small Business Market Research Sales & Marketing Report - PREPARED BY AUDIENCE AUDIT INC.
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2015 Infusionsoft Small Business Market Research Sales & Marketing Report PRE PAR E D BY AU D I E N C E AUDIT IN C .
Introduction
In August 2014, Infusionsoft published an in-depth report on the
attitudes of small business owners based on custom research with
over 800 entrepreneurs. The research was designed to explore the
reasons small business owners started their businesses, how they feel
about the experience and the challenges they face.
The research revealed four distinct groups among the respondents:
Freedom Seekers – These small business owners started their business because they want the
ability to control their fate, decisions, work environment, schedule and revenue. They value their
time and believe owning a small business allows them the freedom to live the lifestyle they’ve
always wanted.
Passionate Creators – This group started their small business because they love what they do
and the customers they serve. Running their business gives them a sense of accomplishment and
pride. They value the impact they are able to make for their customers and the world at large.
Struggling Survivors – This profile resonates the cold, hard reality that sometimes running a
small business is more risky than rewarding. The fear expressed within this group is rooted in
the very real challenges small businesses face every day. Skeptics have significant concerns,
misgivings and skepticism about the value of owning a small business.
Legacy Builders – Small business owners who fall into this profile see small business ownership
as a practical economic choice. They believe small businesses are more ethical than larger
corporations, and believe most people would start their own business if they could. They started
their business to bring something new to the marketplace – something no one else offers. They
take tremendous pride in the business they’ve created and plan to run it for the long haul.
To read more about each of the profiles, study methodology and
Read the first report
respondents, read our first study report.*
In this report we explore the attitudes, behaviors and challenges small businesses face related to sales and marketing.
2 Small Business Owner Attitudinal Segmentation Report Infusionsoft.comMarketing
Website Presence
Any discussion of small business marketing activities should first consider the extent to which the businesses are web-based, as
many modern marketing strategies are dependent upon having an online presence.
72% of our respondents say their business has a website. While this is fairly consistent between the Freedom Seekers,
Passionate Creators and Struggling Survivors, the Legacy Builders report a significantly lower incidence — only 55% of these
respondents say their business has a website. (Fig. 1)
Responsive site Not responsive No website Fig. 1
Website Presence
43% 35% 22%
by Segment
44% 39% 17% Freedom Seekers
Passionate Creators
38% 37% 25% Struggling Survivors
Legacy Builders
28% 27% 45% All Group Average
38% 34% 28%
Most of our respondents who have a website are fairly happy with it. 13% say their site is “just the way I want it,” with 60% saying
they’re satisfied with it but it “could use some tweaks.” 20% of those with a site feel it “needs substantial work” and 8% say their
site “needs to be totally rebuilt from the ground up.”
Lead Generation Strategies
Lead generation is one of the biggest areas of focus for small business marketing. Though there are dozens of tactics that could
be leveraged, most small businesses focus on tried-and-true methods including word of mouth, social media, email to their
own lists and networking. This underlines the importance of effective customer service and relationship development for small
business—both of which are resource-intensive endeavors.
It’s not surprising that online marketing strategies are more likely to be used by companies with a website. 71% are using social
media and 70% use email. Many are also using content marketing (48%) and SEO (43%). On the other hand, 21% of the owners
without a website say they aren’t engaging in any of the lead-generation tactics we listed. (Fig. 2)
Fig. 2
71%
Online Lead
70%
Generation Activities
48% Website
43%
No Website
26%
19% 21%
18%
2% 4% 3%
1%
Social media Email to our Content Search engine Pay-per-click None
own list marketing marketing ads
3 Small Business Owner Attitudinal Segmentation Report Infusionsoft.comWhen it comes to offline lead generation activities, customer referrals are by far the most popular approach, cited by 72% of
respondents. Networking is used by nearly half of respondents. Traditional media such as TV and radio ads, print and direct mail
are cited by far fewer respondents. (Fig. 3)
Fig. 3
Most Popular Offline
72% 46% 26% 21% Lead Generation
Activities
Customer referrals/ Networking Events or event Direct mail/flyers
word of mouth sponsorships
18% 5% 6%
Print ads TV/radio ads Other
lead-generation
methods
Social Media Usage
Social media adoption is closely tied to the presence of a website. General usage supports what many might expect – Facebook
leads the pack, with a 76% adoption rate for respondents that have a website. Twitter is the second most-used among this
group, with LinkedIn in a close third. (Fig. 4)
100 Fig. 4
90
Social Media Usage
80 76%
70 With Website
60 Without Website
52% 50%
50
41%
40
30%
30
23%
20 14%
9% 11%
10 7% 8% 6%
2% 1%
0
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Pinterest Instagram Slideshare
4 Small Business Owner Attitudinal Segmentation Report Infusionsoft.comEffective Marketing Strategies
Because small businesses generally have fewer resources to invest in marketing, they focus heavily on strategies that
generate tangible results. Customer referrals and word of mouth were cited by 62% of respondents as one of the three most
effective marketing strategies. The next most frequently cited tactic, email marketing to their own list, was selected by 34% of
respondents. Social media outranked more traditional strategies including direct mail and print advertising. (Fig. 5)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Fig. 5
Customer referrals/ 62% Most Effective Sales &
Word of mouth
Marketing Overall
Email to our own list 34%
Networking 25%
Social media 23%
Search engine marketing
14%
(SEO/SEM)
Content marketing (blog,
13%
FAQ, webinars, etc.)
Direct mail/flyers 12%
Events or event 12%
sponsorships
Print ads 8%
Pay-per-click ads (PPC) 8%
TV/radio ads 2%
Other 7%
None of the above 6%
Marketing Technology Usage
Software and tools are popular among those small business respondents with websites — 72% are using email marketing, 52%
are using an email auto responder and 43% are using social media software and automated marketing. (These figures are much
higher among Infusionsoft customers than among those respondents who have a website but have never used Infusionsoft.)
Automated marketing is least frequently used by Legacy Builders, and email autoresponders are more often used by Passionate
Creators. (Fig. 6)
The biggest barriers to marketing technology adoption are cost (63%), finding the time to learn the system (45%) and fear of
investing in something that won’t work for their business (42%).
100 Fig. 6
90
80 78%
Marketing Tools Used
75%
69%
by Segment
70
62% 62%
60 55% Freedom Seekers
51%
50 46% 46% 48% 48% Passionate Creators
41% 39% 39% 41%
40
Struggling Survivors
30 30%
Legacy Builders
20
10
0
Email Marketing Email Autoresponder Social Media Automated Marketing
Software Activities
5 Small Business Owner Attitudinal Segmentation Report Infusionsoft.comMarketing Budget
For many small business owners, marketing is more of a time investment than a financial one. Just over half of respondents with
websites are spending $500 or less per month on marketing activities. 25% spend less than $200 per month, and 5% spend
nothing at all. 78% of the solopreneurs in our study spend $500 or less, and 40% are spending less than $200 per month.
Passionate Creators spend slightly more on marketing than other segments, regardless of company size. (Fig. 7)
Less than $200 $200 - $1,000 Over $1,000 Fig. 7
46% 33% 21% Monthly Marketing
Spend by Segment
31% 39% 30%
Freedom Seekers
Passionate Creators
43% 33% 24%
Struggling Survivors
52% 27% 33% Legacy Builders
All Group Average
43% 33% 24%
Marketing Responsibilities
Most respondents say they do marketing activities themselves (81%). 84% of solopreneurs say they do their company’s
marketing, while in larger companies the number drops slightly to 69% while 38% say employees do it as well. Slightly more
respondents say they outsource marketing activities to vendors or software programs (12% for both) than say they outsource
sales activities. Companies with five employees or more are the most likely to outsource marketing activities. (Fig. 8)
91% Fig. 8
Just me
4%
Marketing
Responsibilities by
Company Size
86%
I do marketing
2-10 employees
27% Employees do marketing
75%
11-25 employees
47%
67%
26-50 employees
56%
The majority of small business owners with a website say they manage the site and content themselves (66%). Unlike many
activities, content and site management are outsourced fairly often - 35% of respondents with sites indicate they use vendors for
this purpose. This figure is slightly higher among Passionate Creators, 40% of whom outsource this activity.
6 Small Business Owner Attitudinal Segmentation Report Infusionsoft.comSALES
Sales Methods
There are a variety of ways for consumers to buy products and services from a small business, ranging from a quick purchase
via an online shopping cart to a prolonged one-on-one sales cycle with a sales person.
Among the companies that have a website, 63% say they use it to sell products and services. This is fairly consistent between
segments, but it is more prevalent among solopreneurs (71%) than among those with more employees.
Our research shows that over half of respondents sell to customers through a direct sales process managed by the company
owner or senior management. Less than a third (29%) say that customers purchase through a company sales representative,
although this number jumps significantly among companies with more employees. (Fig. 9)
100 Fig. 9
90
80
Sales Methods
71% 69% (through personal
70
59% contact and websites)
60 56% 54% 56% 58% 58%
53%
50 Online (3rd party site)
42%
40 37%
Online (personal site)
30 25% Offline (contact with
20 18% 17%
13% Owner or Sr. Management)
10 5% Offline (contact with
0 Sales Rep)
Just me 2-10 employees 11-25 employees 26-50 employees
Length of Sales Cycle
For many respondents, customer engagement prior to purchase is a matter of days. 26% say their customers typically decide to
make a purchase in a single interaction and 30% says the time between first contact and purchase is only a few days.
On the other end of the spectrum, 14% say their engagement lasts months, and for 3% it’s often years. Legacy Builders are
more likely to have shorter engagement timeframes than other profiles. Larger organizations are more likely to have longer
engagement timeframes than smaller companies.
Sales Responsibilities
The overwhelming majority (83%) of our survey respondents say they are responsible for conducting sales activities for their
business. While this is to be expected in organizations with only one or two employees, it holds true to a great extent even in
larger organizations — 69% of those in companies with five or more employees still do sales activities themselves, although 52%
of them do say that employees conduct sales as well.
Passionate Creators are the most likely to say that employees join them in responsibility for selling efforts – while 80% say they
sell, 34% say that employees sell as well.
7 Small Business Owner Attitudinal Segmentation Report Infusionsoft.comPayment Processing
The businesses in our survey accept a wide range of payment types from customers. 45% say they accept checks in person
at the time of sale, 41% receive checks in response to invoices, and 41% receive cash. 52% of those with sites accept credit
cards via a site at the time of sale. Only 20% of our respondents say they accept Square or similar mobile payment systems for
customer payment. (Fig. 10)
100 Fig. 10
90
Payment Methods
80
70
60
52%
50 45%
41% 41%
40
30
20%
20
10
0
Credit cards Checks at Checks after Cash Credit cards
on website time of sale invoice via mobile
GENERAL ATTITUDES & BEHAVIORS
Attitudes About Sales & Marketing
Marketing and advertising activities were voted some of the most enjoyed business activities in our study and consistent with
the ratings for sales activities. 17% say they “love it” and 59% give it a better-than-neutral rating. Passionate Creators are most
likely to say they “love” marketing and advertising activities.
While some entrepreneurs may grumble about having to engage in sales activities, most of the small business owners in our
study seem to enjoy it. 16% say they “love it”, while 58% give it a score above neutral on the “love/hate” scale. Passionate
Creators are fonder of sales activities than other profiles, likely because of their dedication to and passion for serving their
chosen audiences.
By far, the most popular activities among business owners are related to customer service and product development. The least
preferred activities are administrative, human resources and financial tasks for most respondents. (Fig. 11)
60% Fig. 11
57%
How They Feel About
46% 44% Working in Different
Business Areas
25% Customer service
21% 20% 18% 17% Product or service
11% development
arketing & advertising
M
Love it activities
Hate it Sales activities
3%
9% anaging a website and/or
M
14% web content
17% 16%
22% IT/Technology activities
Managing vendors
34% 35%
37% Administrative tasks
Financial tasks
56% Human resources
8 Small Business Owner Attitudinal Segmentation Report Infusionsoft.comChallenges
Time is a tremendous challenge for many of the small business owners in our survey. Regardless of industry, and in companies
both large and small, the issue of having time to get everything done was identified as a “huge challenge” by over one third of
respondents, and over half gave this the top two ratings available. (Fig. 12)
Fig. 12
55% 43% 40% 37% % Citing as “Huge
Challenge”
Time to get Managing Money to invest in Generating
everything done everything myself my ideas quality leads
31% 31% 30%
Converting leads Money to add Marketing
into customers employees to my expertise
company
But sales and marketing challenges were revealed as significant in their own right. Generating quality leads was rated the
fourth most challenging item on the list, with converting leads into customers hot on its heels. Marketing expertise was seen as
somewhat less challenging, although it was rated more challenging than qualifying employees, financial or legal expertise and
government regulation. While all profiles struggle to some degree with sales and marketing, Legacy Builders cite marketing
expertise as more difficult for them, while generating and converting leads appear to be less of a challenge.
The most helpful information cited by our respondents would be information on attracting more customers to their business
(66%). 55% want information about how to get their customers to refer their friends, 44% want help getting repeat business, and
42% would like information about finding their ideal customer. Among respondents with a website, 55% would like information
about using social media.
Conclusion
Small business owners of all types face significant challenges running their businesses within the time they have available, and
efforts associated with sales and marketing – generating quality leads, converting leads to customers and marketing expertise –
are among the most challenging of all.
However, it’s also evident that sales and marketing are top priorities. Particularly in organizations with fewer than 25 employees,
owners retain the primary responsibility for these activities. As a result, information and tools that can help these owners fulfill
their sales and marketing goals more efficiently are in high demand.
Word of mouth remains a key lead generation effort for most businesses, whether they have a website or not. Systems that help
owners manage and streamline their referral efforts would undoubtedly be welcome.
And while it’s not surprising that Infusionsoft customers are more likely to be using email marketing and automation than owners
not working with us, it’s clear that email marketing remains a popular tool for those companies with websites.
At Infusionsoft, we strive to help web-enabled small businesses make the most of their time and support their goals for their
business – whatever they may be. We are actively engaged in identifying and offering resources, information, tools and systems
that can help small business owners make the time and effort they put into sales and marketing activities more productive,
streamlined and enjoyable.
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