Small Business Owners In Advertising Rut!
When it comes
to advertising, small businessowners are definitely in a
rut—sticking to traditional media, advertising in printed
directories (that are out-of-date before the ink dries!) Here’s the
scoop. . .
According to an
independent study commissioned by AT&T, the majority of
small-business owners see directory advertising as their most
effective marketing tool. The survey of 1,000 businesses with 25
employees or less, found that nearly two-thirds (63%) still
advertise in a printed directory.
In addition,
72% of those small businesses said they would spend the same amount
on printed directory advertising in the coming year; some (11%) said
they would spend more. And 19% said they would spend more next year
on newspaper and magazine ads, which were cited as the second-most
effective marketing tool by the small businesses.
While only
about 23% of the respondents said they currently use online
advertising (and two-thirds said they have their own web sites),
some 53% of them said they expected to buy online advertising
featuring video over the next two to three years, according to the
survey.
Obviously,
AT&T, which publishes the well-known Yellow Pages directory, has a
vested interest in the survey. But to eliminate bias, the company
contracted Western Wats Data Collection Agency in Utah to conduct
the survey.
The
small-businesses survey is intended to back up research from The
Kelsey Group, in which 61% of Americans say they still use a printed
directory to find local information. That survey found that 13% of
consumers used search engines to find local information, while 7%
used web directories.
The results of
both surveys show that businesses and consumers looking for local
information are still turning to the tried-and-true book. The top
five categories for directory searches are: restaurants, physicians,
auto parts suppliers, auto repair shops, and pizza.
According to
the survey, 20% said they expected to spend more on internet
directories, and 38% expected to spend more on internet banner ads.
When it comes to search-word marketing, 43% said they spent more
this year than last year, and 34% said they expected to increase
search-word spending next year
