Small Businesses Plan to Increase Their Marketing Budgets in 2011

Marketing budgets are on the rise in 2011 for small businesses in the US, according to a survey conducted by Zoomerang (leading provider of online survey and polling tools) and Growbiz Media (content provider and small business consultant).

Fuelled by a better feeling about the economic recovery, small businesses plan to spend more on their marketing, with on-line activities at the top of their marketing efforts next year (e-mail, website and social media marketing).

Here is what small businesses plan to spend in the near future:

Website	17% increase
Direct mail	15% increase
E-mail marketing	15% increase
Social media	13% increase
Print ads	10% increase
Online ads	9% increase
SEO	4% increase

Interestingly, only 4% will increase their SEO spending next year. As the study doesn't provide more information, perhaps small businesses are not yet taking advantage of the full potential of the Web or maybe they plan to do their SEO activity in house.

One of the interesting findings is that 86% of the small businesses rely on word of mouth marketing (relationships), in which social media was added as a new twist (34 percent).

Building and maintaining relationships is a difficult task for most small businesses - it takes time, and it may be hard to monetize if marketing efforts are not coordinated.

TeamBiz can help you build your on-line reputation and spread the word about your business online. Start by writing your free profile and own your space when your name is Googled.

And stay tuned... next year we plan to give you new exciting tools to market your business and build connections, on-line and in person!