Small/Medium Businesses Still Rely On Offline Direct Marketing
By Print in the Mix

According to a new study released by Bredin Business Information (BBI), major marketers continue to move online to reach small and medium businesses, despite businesses preference for some offline tactics.

BBI conducted two surveys in late January and February 2009, asking 50 leading marketers about their outreach and research efforts for 2009 and 741 small and medium businesses, about their online and offline media preferences.

Among offline tactics, marketers say they will increase spending on PR and telemarketing versus 2008, while direct mail, print advertising and trade shows will decline. Marketers plan to increase spending on every online tactic surveyed, especially microsites/resource centers, social networking and webinars.

While marketers report a declined interest and investment in most offline tactics, this is in contrast to the channels small and medium businesses say they rely upon -- newspaper and magazine articles (43.6%) and direct mail, including letters, postcards and catalogs (43.5%) are most popular. Phone calls (27.4%) and radio/TV ads (32%) are least popular.

Online, referrals from friends and peers are the most popular source of information on products and services (71.9%), followed by search engine marketing (57.0%), educational websites (44.5%) and email newsletters (38.2%). The least popular online formats are ads on cell phones/PDAs (8.1%), videos/podcasts (19.2%), forums/chat rooms (20.2%), and social networking sites (27.8%).

---Source: Print in the Mix March 26, 2009 newsletter (www.printinthemix.edu). Bredin Business Information is dedicated to helping Fortune 500 and emerging marketers companies build a compelling presence in the complex SMB space. Reach them at http://www.bbionline.com.