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Main Street Embraces Interactive
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Mar 18, 2009 by Mark Maier
The report "Main Street Goes Interactive" is out from Borrell & Associates, detailing what Small-and-Medium-Sized Businesses are trending to spend in the upcoming years...."While they spend, on average, 11% of their ad budgets online, some spend far more. Real estate agents are spending an amazing 47% of their ad dollars online, and local computer stores 36 percent."
The report goes on to say that with 14.6 Small and Medium sized Businesses in the US, it seems like a goldmine as they tend to overspend on advertising relative to size and sales. The report is worth a read as it shows some logical places to focus your sales efforts...
"The blurring borders between what is advertising in the interactive world and what is not added to the shift of 'non-ad' marketing dollars," states the report. "Businesses large and smaller--but especially smaller ones--don't even try to make the distinction. To them, whatever they spend or do on the Web is advertising, whether it goes through an intermediary or not."
That mindset will help non-ad spending on things like Web sites or online promotions or public relations efforts increase from 7.9% to 18.1% of interactive marketing budgets from 2008 to 2013.
On the advertising side, Borrell anticipates that paid search will continue to be a key part of SMB spending while banner ads give way to video. "By 2013, the spending habits of SMBs are likely to be very different than today, when their interactive buys consist mainly of paid search (accounting for 85% of online advertising)," according to the study. "In five years, 68% of their spending will be on paid search and video."
Meanwhile, standard format advertising, which today accounts for 47% of all SMB interactive spending, will make up less than 19% by the end of 2013. Citing a B@B Magazine survey, Borrell noted that only one-third of marketers interviewed planned to increase spending on banners in 2009, while more than two-thirds expected to boost spending on email marketing."
Is there a place for a local business directory on your Community Web Portal for Small and Medium sized Businesses? Can you offer them something they have a difficult time doing like featuring video vignettes of products? Can your staff start to sell Google Adsense campaigns and help local business move some ineffective advertising like the Yellow Pages or Print to Interactive? Can you work with the local Chamber or business organizations in your market to reach these businesses with affordable but effective combinations of "Ground Force"(Interactive) and "Air Force" (Radio & TV) to create an integrated marketing campaign?
The theme here is to create opportunities to help your Small and Medium sized Businesses to be effective with whatever advertising they are doing and educate them on what is available and how you can provide a solution.
