US SB - Business Issues, Role of IT, Social Media, …...Social Media Usage Social networking tools...
Transcript of US SB - Business Issues, Role of IT, Social Media, …...Social Media Usage Social networking tools...
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US SB - Business Issues, Role of IT, Social Media, Use of iPadReport
Table of Contents
Executive SummaryMethodologyBusiness Issues & IT InitiativesIT Infrastructure Refresh PlansUse of iPad and Smart PhonesSupplier Purchase Preference for Mobile HardwareMarketing InitiativesSocial Media Usage
Executive Summary
Business Issues & IT InitiativesReducing operational cost, expanding into new markets, and improving effectiveness of sales and marketing are top of the mind business issues that small businesses are facing today.Rising medical cost and taxations along with poor availability of credit/loans are some of the issues cited by small businesses hindering their growth rate.Higher employee size businesses are also looking at staffing changes in terms of restructuring or reducing or even off-shoring.Nearly 40% of small businesses are looking at SaaS/Cloud Computing, business intelligence, and virtualization. The focus moves from simple building blocks of technology to higher end technologies as small businesses move from lower to higher employee size categories.Remote back up is still a top of the mind IT initiative for small businesses.Not only enhancing IT is important for small businesses but also improving productivity through automation is extremely important. It is interesting to note that 1-4 employee size category is looking to an increase in prices to offset their cost of operations.Among the newer technologies that they are currently investing in include: Windows 7, refresh of PCs and servers, as well as smart phones.
IT Infrastructure Refresh PlansIt is quite clear that small businesses are seriously looking at enhancing their IT infrastructure, migrating from older technologies to more modern hardware platforms are key initiatives for reducing cost of operations.Over 60% of small businesses think that it is time for a refresh of their PCs and servers.
Executive Summary
Use of iPad and Smart PhonesAbout 20% of small businesses have at least one iPad. Notably businesses that are using iPadshave a higher average number of PCs and Smart Phones than businesses that don’t own an iPad.Small businesses today at best are not sure of the usage of iPads although iPads are being used for emails, demos, as well as internet.At least 76% of small businesses use smart phones to access their corporate email and 50% of the employees of these small businesses are on an unlimited data plan.
Marketing InitiativesMarketing department is usually managed by the head of the business with an average of 7% workforce as well as 7% revenue dedicated to marketing activities.Print advertising is the most used marketing activity followed by search engine Adwords. Direct mail and yellow pages are behind Adwords unlike the trend that was about three years ago.
Social Media UsageSocial networking tools are rising in popularity among SBs but Tweeting lags other tools.Nearly 45% of small business are not sure how social networking tools can help promote their business.Although both social media and websites have the same level of effectiveness of creating awareness, websites are a lot more effective by as much as 13% in driving revenue.
Data Collection and Capture
Synthesis and Analysis
Reporting
Methodology
A total of 406 small businesses were contacted for the surveyA 25 minute questionnaire was administered to each respondentRespondents were IT decision makers, President/CEO responsible for making decisions for IT purchases and initiativesIn respondent organizations where IT and Marketing were managed by two different people, both the respondents were contacted for the surveyThe surveys were conducted in October 2010Sampling quota was fixed by employee size categories: 1-4, 5-9, 10-19, 20-49, 50-99This report consists of data and analysis for US only
Sample Size 1-4 5-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 Total
N= 83 82 80 81 80 406
Business Issues
& IT Initiatives
Small businesses consider IT to be important enough to
enhance, refresh and invest in new technologies to reduce
operational costs and improve sales and marketing
Top 3 Business Issues1. Reducing operational costs2. Focusing on new markets3. Improving effectiveness of sales & marketing
Top 3 Trends1. Rising medical costs2. Taxation3. Entrance of new competitors
Top 3 IT Initiatives
1. Migrating from older technologies to more modern hardware and/or software platforms
2. Maintaining and enhancing current IT infrastructure3. Controlling costs and improving financial justification for continued IT investment
Top 3 Steps to Reduce Costs
1. Enhancing IT (upgrading, consolidating, looking at new technologies)2. Improving productivity through automation3. Increasing prices
Technology Currently Investing/ Investigating
Investing:1. Smart phones2. Windows 73. Refresh of PCs & servers
Investigating:1. SaaS/Cloud Computing2. Business intelligence3. Remote back up
IT forms nearly 16% of a small business’ budget allocation,
second largest component behind labor and staffing
IT16%
Sales & Marketing (excluding
advertising)7%
Travel & Entertainment
5%
Telephony & Communications
7%
Advertising6%
Labor and staffing25%
Equip. & Machinery related to business
(excl. IT)8%
Transportation & Logistics
5%
Office Supplies6%
Office rental/lease9%
Other Costs/Expenditures
6% Purchase/Upgrade of servers, PCs
18%
Purchase/renewal of software and
licenses14%
IT staffing (including external
consultants)18%
Maintenance of PCs and Servers
16%
Installation/Purchase/Upgrade of
networking equipment
11%
SaaS applications/Clou
d Computing5%
Purchase/Upgrade of
Printers/Peripherals
10%
Other IT costs8%
What percent of your annual budgets are allocated for? How is your IT budget spread across?
What would you say are the top three business issues your company is facing and addressing today?
Reducing operational cost along with expanding into new
markets and improving effectiveness of sales and marketing
are top of the mind business issues for small businesses
Reducing costs associated to IT is important in terms of reducing operational cost and improving productivity as seen in subsequent slides
34.5% 32.3% 32.3% 32.0% 29.3% 27.8% 23.4% 18.2% 13.3% 13.1% 11.1% 9.4% 8.1% 7.9% 7.4%0%
15%
30%
45%
Reducing operational
costs
Focusing on new markets
Improving effectiveness of sales and marketing
Improving workforce
productivity
Improving quality of
products and processes
Keeping pace with
competition
Creating innovative products
Reducing costs associated to
IT
Improving speed to market
Attracting and retaining
employees
Managing inventory effectively
Managing aging assets
Coordinating supply chain
and or product development
Investing in Green
Technology
Developing an outsourcing
strategy
Overall
Rising medical costs and taxation are top trends
impacting small businesses
What would you say are the top three trends impacting businesses of your size?
Rising medical costs, taxation, and availability of credit/loans seem to be hindering the growth of small businesses across all employee size categories.However, it is observed that the very small businesses are also facing business slow down due to the entrance of new competitors. This is in spite of the sluggish economy and is probably prompted due to a large number of experienced and unemployed manpower who are going into business for themselves.
56.2%
44.6% 44.6% 43.8%
32.0%27.3%
21.9% 19.5%
10.1%
0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
Migrating from older
technologies to more modern
hardware and/or software
platforms
Maintaining and enhancing current IT
infrastructure
Controlling costs and improving financial
justification for continued IT investment
Developing and/or
implement new strategic IT
applications to improve
organization's competitiveness
Consolidating hardware and
software applications
Improving disaster
recovery and security
Integrating disparate software
applications
Investing in Cloud
Computing
Outsourcing IT activities
Overall
What would you say are your organization’s top three
IT initiatives for the next 2 years?
Small businesses are seriously looking at a refresh of their IT infrastructure in the hopes of reducing the cost of IT
It is also interesting to note that as businesses grew, they have mixed installations of older and newer technologies and are now looking for consolidation
What would you say are your organization’s top three IT
initiatives for the next 2 years? (by employee
size)
8.4%
22.9%
37.3%
48.2%
25.3%
47.0%
48.2%
60.2%
2.4%
Investing in Cloud Computing
Consolidating hardware and software applications
Improving disaster recovery and security
Maintaining and enhancing current IT infrastructure
Integrating disparate software applications
Controlling costs and improving financial justification for continued
IT investment
Developing and/or implement new strategic IT applications to improve
organization's competitiveness
Migrating from older technologies to more modern hardware and/or
software platforms
Outsourcing IT activities
1-4 Employee Size
14.6%
37.8%
24.4%
43.9%
18.3%
43.9%
40.2%
69.5%
7.3%
5-9 Employee Size
28.8%
37.5%
18.8%
38.8%
27.5%
37.5%
42.5%
51.3%
17.5%
10-19 Employee Size
24.7%
27.2%
27.2%
53.1%
17.3%
48.1%
45.7%
50.6%
6.2%
20-49 Employee Size
21.3%
35.0%
28.8%
38.8%
21.3%
46.3%
42.5%
48.8%
17.5%
50-99 Employee Size
Please tell us which of the following technologies you
are either “investing in”, “investigating”, or “ignoring”
Among the key technology areas that small businesses are currently investing in include: smart phones, Windows 7 (agrees with enhancing and refreshing IT Infrastructure), refresh of PCs and servers, as well as virtualization. As the small businesses mature and prime themselves for empowerment and growth, they are actively investigating use of SaaS/Cloud Computing, business Intelligence, as well as remote back up.Refresh of PCs and servers seem to be a very important initiative for small businesses that is causing them to both invest as well as to investigate.
Please tell us which of the following technologies you
are either “investing in”, “investigating”, or “ignoring”
For 1-4 employee size category businesses, Windows 7 and smart phones clearly stand out as areas they are investing in. Storage, remote back up, and refresh of PCs are the key areas they are investigating.
Please tell us which of the following technologies you
are either “investing in”, “investigating”, or “ignoring”
For 5-9 employee size businesses seem to be following the same pattern as 1-4 employee size businesses.In fact, both 1-4 and 5-9 employee size businesses exhibit similar characteristics across all business issues and technology initiatives.These are the businesses termed as very small businesses and have been largely ignored by vendors and channel partners alike.
Please tell us which of the following technologies you
are either “investing in”, “investigating”, or “ignoring”
10-19 employee size businesses start to investigate and invest in newer technologies, hence it is seen that apart from investing in smart phones and Windows 7, they are also seriously investing in areas such as email campaigns, business intelligence, virtualization and video conferencing.Again, refresh of PCs and servers is extremely important to them for reducing the cost of IT and improving business productivity.
Please tell us which of the following technologies you
are either “investing in”, “investigating”, or “ignoring”
For 20-49 employee size businesses, initiatives include: Windows 7, smart phones, virtualization, web conferencing, and refresh of PCs and servers.Among the technologies they are investigating include: business intelligence, video conferencing, and Android OS.
Please tell us which of the following technologies you
are either “investing in”, “investigating”, or “ignoring”
The 50-99 Employee size category businesses consider technology enough to be investing rather than investigating in a large number of technology areas.
Enhancing IT and improving productivity through automation
are 2 most important steps that small businesses plan to
take to reduce their operational cost
67.5% 65.0%
44.8% 44.1%32.3% 29.3%
17.0%
0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
75%
Enhancing IT [upgrading,
consolidating, looking at new technologies]
Improving productivity
through automation
Increasing Prices Staffing changes [Restructuring, reducing, off-
shoring]
Obtaining loans/funds
Reducing number of products
Others
Overall
If reducing operational cost is important to you for your business. What are the three most important steps that you are taking or planning to take to reduce these costs?
61.4% 55.4% 54.2%39.8% 37.3%
28.9% 22.9%
0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
75%
Increasing Prices Enhancing IT [upgrading,
consolidating, looking at new technologies]
Improving productivity
through automation
Others Obtaining loans/funds
Reducing number of products
Staffing changes [Restructuring, reducing, off-
shoring]
1-4 Employee Size
Enhancing IT and improving automation are important steps in 1-4
employee size category in reducing operational costs, however, it
may be easier for them to increase prices to offset costs
If reducing operational cost is important to you for your business. What are the three most important steps that you are taking or planning to take to reduce these costs?
67.1% 61.0%48.8%
41.5%34.1% 34.1%
13.4%0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
75%
Improving productivity
through automation
Enhancing IT [upgrading,
consolidating, looking at new technologies]
Increasing Prices Staffing changes [Restructuring, reducing, off-
shoring]
Obtaining loans/funds
Reducing number of products
Others
5-9 Employee Size
5-9 Employee businesses are big enough to think in terms of using IT for
automation to reduce costs, which could be in terms of essential solutions
such as bookkeeping, POS, and other sales management technologies
If reducing operational cost is important to you for your business. What are the three most important steps that you are taking or planning to take to reduce these costs?
67.5% 67.5%
47.5% 43.8%36.3%
30.0%
7.5%0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
75%
Enhancing IT [upgrading,
consolidating, looking at new technologies]
Improving productivity
through automation
Staffing changes [Restructuring, reducing, off-
shoring]
Increasing Prices Obtaining loans/funds
Reducing number of products
Others
10-19 Employee Size
10-19 Employee size businesses start to look at IT as more of an essential
technology to reduce their operational cost and hence focus on enhancing IT
and improving productivity through automation
If reducing operational cost is important to you for your business. What are the three most important steps that you are taking or planning to take to reduce these costs?
80.2%65.4%
55.6%
32.1% 28.4% 28.4%9.9%
0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
75%
90%
Enhancing IT [upgrading,
consolidating, looking at new technologies]
Improving productivity
through automation
Staffing changes [Restructuring, reducing, off-
shoring]
Increasing Prices Obtaining loans/funds
Reducing number of products
Others
20-49 Employee Size
20-49 employee size category businesses follow the same
pattern as 10-19 employee size category businesses
If reducing operational cost is important to you for your business. What are the three most important steps that you are taking or planning to take to reduce these costs?
73.8% 71.3%53.8%
37.5%25.0% 25.0%
13.8%0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
75%
90%
Enhancing IT [upgrading,
consolidating, looking at new technologies]
Improving productivity
through automation
Staffing changes [Restructuring, reducing, off-
shoring]
Increasing Prices Reducing number of products
Obtaining loans/funds
Others
50-99 Employee Size
Unlike 20-49 employee size businesses, for 50-99 employee size
businesses, enhancing IT and improving productivity through
automation are equally important for reducing operational cost
If reducing operational cost is important to you for your business. What are the three most important steps that you are taking or planning to take to reduce these costs?
IT Infrastructure
Refresh Plans
An average of 2.4 years has passed since a major refresh of PCs for
most of the small businesses and is also evident when they mention
refresh of PCs and Servers as a key initiative
43.4%
32.9% 35.0%39.5%
28.8%36.0%
20.5%
26.8% 26.3%22.2%
32.5%25.6%
19.3% 24.4% 18.8% 16.0% 20.0% 19.7%
6.0% 4.9% 12.5% 13.6%11.3% 9.6%
3.6% 6.1%3.8% 2.5%
5.0%4.2%
4.8% 2.4% 3.7%1.3% 2.5%
2.4% 2.4% 3.8% 2.5% 1.3% 2.5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Thinking about your IT infrastructure (PCs) how long has it been since you had a major upgrade, refresh or overhaul?
More than 6 years
5-6 years
4-5 years
3-4 years
2-3 years
1-2 years
Less than 1 year
2.33 2.44 2.43 2.41 2.41 2.40Average # of years
Similarly for servers, average number of years since refresh
is 3.27 and larger for lower employee size categories
25.3%15.9%
33.8%28.4% 28.8% 26.4%
10.8% 26.8%
16.3% 24.7% 27.5%
21.2%
14.5%
17.1%
16.3%16.0%
21.3%
17.0%6.0%
12.2%
11.3%13.6%
12.5%
11.1%
3.6%
4.9%
10.0%8.6%
5.0%
6.4%
10.8%
9.8%
3.8%
6.2% 1.3%
6.4%28.9%
13.4%8.8%
2.5% 3.8%11.6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Thinking about your IT infrastructure (Servers) how long has it been since you had a major upgrade, refresh or overhaul?
More than 6 years
5-6 years
4-5 years
3-4 years
2-3 years
1-2 years
Less than 1 year
4.29 3.60 3.03 2.80 2.60 3.27Average # of years
With the use of wireless technologies and higher replacement cycles for
switches and routers, it is not surprising that only an average of 2.8 years have
passed since the last networking refresh happened among small businesses
21.7% 25.6%32.5%
21.0%
32.5%26.6%
34.9% 26.8%
28.8%
35.8%
28.8%31.0%
13.3%15.9%
12.5%14.8%
21.3%
15.5%
7.2% 12.2%
11.3% 14.8%
10.0%
11.1%3.6%
9.8%6.3% 6.2%
2.5%
5.7%6.0%
2.4% 3.8% 4.9% 3.8%4.2%13.3%
7.3% 5.0% 2.5% 1.3%5.9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Thinking about your IT infrastructure (Networking) how long has it been since you had a major upgrade, refresh or overhaul?
More than 6 years
5-6 years
4-5 years
3-4 years
2-3 years
1-2 years
Less than 1 year
3.20 2.98 2.66 2.77 2.39 2.80Average # of years
The very small businesses seem to have a longer refresh cycle for
telephony as these small businesses are increasingly using VOIP
services such as Skype, Vonage and Google Voice
20.5% 20.7%28.8%
21.0% 18.8% 21.9%
20.5% 22.0%
25.0%
25.9%21.3%
22.9%
18.1% 18.3%
16.3%
16.0% 26.3% 19.0%
6.0%
13.4%
11.3%
9.9%8.8% 9.9%4.8%
4.9%
5.0%13.6%
5.0% 6.7%6.0%
6.1%
2.5%9.9%
8.8% 6.7%24.1%
14.6% 11.3%3.7%
11.3% 13.1%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Thinking about your IT infrastructure (Telephony) how long has it been since you had a major upgrade, refresh or overhaul?
More than 6 years
5-6 years
4-5 years
3-4 years
2-3 years
1-2 years
Less than 1 year
3.93 3.51 3.03 3.17 3.43 2.85Average # of years
Time for refresh?
49.4% 48.8%
73.8% 67.9% 67.5% 61.3%
50.6% 51.2%
26.3% 32.1% 32.5% 38.7%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Do you think it is time for an upgrade, refresh, overhaul?
Yes No
2.3 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4
4.3
3.6
3.02.8
2.6
3.33.23.0
2.7 2.8
2.4
2.8
3.9
3.5
3.03.2
3.4 3.4
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
# o
f Y
ear
s
Average # of Years since an Upgrade, Refresh, or Overhaul
PCs Servers Networking Telephony
The sweet spot for targeting refresh of IT seems to be the 10-19 Employee size categories although the average number of years since their last refresh is amongst the lowest. This shows that this employee size category is preparing itself for growth to the higher employee size category
Use of iPad and
Smart Phones
Use of iPad and Smart Phones among small
businesses
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 OverallAvg # of iPads within iPad Businesses
2 3 5 10 15 9
Avg # of iPads within All Businesses
0 1 2 5 8 1
Avg # of PCs within iPad Businesses
6 13 22 46 96 49
Avg # of PCs within All Businesses
3 8 18 38 85 13
Avg # of Smart Phones within iPad Businesses
2 5 13 30 58 29
Avg # of Smart Phones within All Businesses
1 4 10 20 58 6
6.0%
24.1%
48.0% 50.0%54.5%
20.3%
61.4%
82.9%89.3% 92.0%
96.1%
83.9%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
% of Businesses with at least one.....
iPad Smart Phone
It is interesting to note that businesses that are using iPads have a higher average # of PCs and Smart Phones than businesses that do not own an iPad
What are the applications for iPad
60.0%
25.0%
30.8%
18.6%
39.1%
30.1%
5.0%
2.6%
9.3%
4.3%
5.2%
40.0%
60.0%
64.1%
62.8%
52.2%
58.8%
10.0%
2.6%
9.3%
4.3%
5.9%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
1 - 4
5 - 9
10 - 19
20 - 49
50 - 99
Overall
Emp
loye
e S
ize
What is the planned use for the iPad in your organization?
Mainly as a viewing device for emails, demo presentations, Internet readership
Mainly as an inputting device for company applications such as database enrichment
All of the above
Not really sure its best use
iPads are predominantly being used as a device for emails, presentations, and internet surfing. However, higher Employee size categories seem to be starting to use iPad for data capture, either by salespersons or by “roaming” customer support personnel. About 6% of small businesses are not yet sure about the usage of iPad.
Very small businesses seem to have a preference for
notebooks over iPads, while at higher employee size
categories, the preference for both begin to increase
1.2%6.1%
15.0% 14.8% 11.3% 9.6%
59.0%
37.8%
33.8% 35.8%
30.0%39.4%
2.4%
13.4%10.0%
11.1%
13.8%
10.1%
9.6%
2.4%5.0%
6.2%
3.8%5.4%1.2%
4.9%
5.0%2.2%
19.3%
26.8%15.0%
19.8%28.8% 21.9%
8.4% 12.2%21.3%
7.4% 7.5% 11.3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Would you say you prefer…?
Both iPads and Notebooks are important
All three (iPads, Notebooks, Netbooks) are important
You prefer Netbooks over Notebooks
You prefer Netbooks over iPads
You prefer both iPads and Notebooks
You prefer Notebooks over iPads
You prefer iPads over notebooks and netbooks
Within the small businesses, the percentage of employees
using smart phones increases with the employee size
category
38.6%
73.2%87.5% 86.4%
96.3%
76.1%
61.4%
26.8%12.5% 13.6%
3.8%
23.9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Do employees access their email, calendar, tasks (Outlook or other similar) by smart phone?
No
Yes
38% 46% 62% 52% 53% 50%Avg % of employees that are on an unlimited data plan
1-4 5-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 SB
Top 1st Reason
Top 2nd Reason
Top 3rd Reason
Reasons for purchasing an iPad
1
2
3
It is a cool device
Sales/Demos
Experiment
Product Catalogs
Customer order/ Input
Vertical Applications
Who is using the iPad
Top regularly used applications for iPad
1-4 5-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 SB
Top 1st
Top 2nd
Top 3rd
Top 4th
Top 5th
Top 6th
Top 7th
Top 8th
Top 9th
Internet Search
Social Media
Reading Books
Web Conf./Comm.
Games
Productivity
Vertical Applications
Access Primary PC
Supplier Purchase
Preference for Mobile
Hardware
Purchase of IT and telecom from different suppliers is the predominant theme
although at higher employee size categories with a better procurement process
in place, nearly 25% of small businesses start to use a single supplier
10.8% 17.1%29.3% 25.3% 28.9%
22.0%
89.2% 82.9%70.7% 74.7% 71.1%
78.0%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
How do SBs Purchase IT & Telecom HW Equipment
We buy our IT hardware and Telecommunication equipment from two or more different companies/suppliers
All our IT hardware and Telecommunication equipment are purchased from the same company/supplier
22.9%
36.6%42.7%
36.0%43.4%
36.1%
77.1%
63.4%57.3%
64.0%56.6%
63.9%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
How do SBs Purchase Telecom HW Equipment
Fixed Telecom and Mobile Telecom hardware & connection services from different suppliers
Fixed and Mobile telecom hardware & connection services from the same company
Very small businesses prefer to purchase Mobile Hardware
from retailers whereas higher employee size businesses use
Mobile Operators and IT dealers
28.1% 28.8%37.2% 33.3% 37.2% 32.4%
71.9% 71.2%62.8% 66.7% 62.8% 67.6%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Why SBs Purchase Telecom HW from Different Suppliers
We purchase Mobile hardware anywhere but for connection service we have to deal with service providers
Mobile hardware and connection services have bundled offers that do not cover fixed line solutions
27%20% 27%
34% 30% 27%
51%
46% 32%27% 29% 37%
7%
11%12%
16% 19% 13%
5% 17%19%
16% 17% 15%
10% 7% 10% 6% 5% 8%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Where do SBs Purchase Their Mobile Hardware
Other
Value Added Reseller
IT dealer
Retailer
Mobile Operator
Price drives the type of supplier across all businesses
apart from going to their preferred current IT supplier
20.3% 19.1% 17.0%23.2% 22.2% 20.3%
31.1% 35.3% 41.5%42.9% 42.6%
38.0%
45.9%30.9%
34.0%32.1% 29.6%
35.1%
2.7%14.7%
7.5% 1.8% 5.6% 6.6%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Have you considered sourcing all your computing and telecommunications equipment from the same company?
No, did not know we could have
No, we have different purchasing practices and cannot see how it can be done
Yes, but there is no single supplier able to serve our needs price competitively
Yes, but there is no single supplier able to provide all relevant products and services
14.9%23.5%
13.2%25.0% 25.9% 20.3%
5.4%4.4%
11.3%
12.5% 7.4%7.9%4.1%
10.3%3.8%
12.5%11.1%
8.2%
75.7%61.8%
71.7%
50.0% 55.6%63.6%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
If you could choose, would you prefer to source all your IT and telecommunication equipment from…
Is irrelevant as long as the price offered is what matters
Your current fixed telecom equipment supplier
Your current mobile equipment supplier
Your current IT equipment supplier
Marketing
Initiatives
Presence of marketing department
2.4% 6.1%21.3%
37.0%
55.0%
24.1%
97.6% 93.9%78.8%
63.0%
45.0%
75.9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Do you have a separate marketing department in your organization? This is
different than a sales department.
No
Yes
100.0%
20.0%29.4%
6.7% 4.5%12.2%
80.0% 58.8%
60.0%52.3%
56.1%
11.8%
30.0%38.6%
28.6%
3.3% 4.5% 3.1%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
How many personnel are there in your marketing department?
10 or more
5 - 9
2 - 4
1
1.0 2.6 2.9 4.5 5.0 4.3Average # of personnel
As would be expected, over 50% of higher employee size category has a marketing department of an average of 5 marketing personnel.There is an average jump of about 15% in presence of marketing department as businesses move from 5-9 to 10-19 to 20-49 and to 50-99 employee size category.
Who manages the Marketing Department?
84.3%
63.4% 65.0%
43.2% 38.8%
59.1%
7.2%
8.5% 7.5%
7.4%
2.5%
6.7%
2.5%
3.7%
2.5%
1.7%
2.4%
13.4% 11.3%
22.2%
18.8%
13.5%
3.6%11.0% 6.3%
11.1%
12.5%
8.9%
2.4% 3.7% 7.5% 12.3%
25.0%
10.1%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Who manages marketing in your organization?
A marketing executive manages it
One of a designated staff manages it in addition to his/her regular job function
Our sales personnel manage it
An external consultant manages it
Nobody manages it
The CEO/President is largely responsible for managing the marketing of small businesses, however at higher employee size categories, the businesses begin to hire marketing and sales executives who take on the managing of the marketing department.Interesting to note that a very small percent of small businesses mention that nobody manages the marketing, which clearly shows despite the absence of a formal marketing department, small businesses do consider marketing to be an important function within their organizations.
For very small businesses, business success is dependent upon
customer delight whereas for 50-99 employee size category,
efficiency and optimization also become important
77%79%
68%
60%
54%
68%
8% 9%
23% 23%
30%
18%
6% 5% 5%
11%9% 7%
8% 7%5% 5%
8% 7%0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Which of the following value-statements best describes your business?
Our business success depends upon a strong relationship with the customer, providing goods and services highly customized to their needs and being responsive to their demandsOur business success depends upon implementing highly efficient and optimized processes so as to deliver the products and/or services at the lowest possible costOur business success depends upon implementing cost effective IT solutions so as to improve productivity, efficiency and profitabilityOur business success depends upon our ability to consistently innovate and bring cutting edge products to market
An average of 7% of revenue is allocated for
marketing activities by small businesses
34.9%
19.5%
6.3% 4.9% 2.5%
13.8%
33.7%
34.1%
32.5% 32.1%30.0%
32.5%
24.1%
24.4%
37.5% 40.7%
30.0%
31.3%
2.4%
8.5%18.8% 12.3%
27.5%
13.8%
3.6%
8.5%
5.0%7.4% 7.5% 6.4%
1.2% 4.9% 2.5% 2.5% 2.2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Typically what percent of your total annual revenue do you allocate for marketing activities for your business?
More than 20%
16 - 20%
11 - 15%
6 - 10%
1 - 5%
Less than 1%
4.4% 7.2% 7.3% 7.9% 9.0% 7.2%Average % of revenue
Similar to 7% of revenue dedicated to marketing, 7% of
workforce is dedicated to marketing
50.6%
35.4%
20.0%14.8%
8.8%
26.1%
21.7%
30.5%
21.3% 34.6%38.8%
29.3%
7.2% 18.3%
32.5%
30.9%25.0%
22.7%
2.4%
6.1%
15.0%11.1%
16.3%10.1%1.2%
3.7%11.3% 7.4%
7.5% 6.2%16.9%
6.1%1.2% 3.8% 5.7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
What percent of your total workforce is dedicated to marketing activities?
More than 20%
16 - 20%
11 - 15%
6 - 10%
1 - 5%
Less than 1%
7.1% 5.8% 7,3% 6.7% 7.8% 6.9%Average % of workforce
Print advertising and direct mailing combined form a bulk of
the marketing expense, however, Adwords constitute a
higher percentage than direct mailing and yellow pages
Print advertising, 21%
TV advertising, 3%
Direct Mail, yellow pages listing, 15%
Telemarketing, 7%Search engine
marketing/Adwords, 18%
Event Sponsorships, 11%
Other, 24%
% of Marketing Spending Allocated
Referrals, testimonials, followed by web advertising are the most
effective activities in driving new businesses
Please tell us which of the following activities are most effective in helping you drive new business.
Marketing budget
65.1%57.3%
46.3%39.5% 41.3%
50.0%
14.5%
12.2%27.5%
27.2% 21.3%
20.4%
9.6%
11.0%
20.0%
17.3% 22.5%
16.0%
8.4%
7.3%
6.3%
7.4% 8.8% 7.6%3.7%2.5%
5.0% 2.2%1.2%
2.4%3.7% 1.5%
1.2%6.1%
2.5% 1.3% 2.2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
For 2011, will your Marketing Budget?...
Decrease by more than 10% over 2010
Decrease by 6-10% over 2010
Decrease by 5% or less over 2010
Increase by more than 10% over 2010
Increase by 6-10% over 2010
Increase by 5% or less over 2010
Remain the same as 2010
2.1% 1.1% 3.2% 2.4% 3.3% 2.4%Average % of increase
Social Media
Usage
Small businesses have begun to use social media for creating
awareness about their business; Facebook shows the highest usage,
while Twitter the least amongst latest tools
35.5% 34.5%
31.3%28.3%
24.6% 24.1%
14.0%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Facebook Page
LinkedIn Facebook Events
Blogs Ads on Social Sites
Twitter Myspace
Percent SBs That Use Different Social Media
In which of the following areas and to what extent has the use of social media services impacted your business?
Nearly 70% plan to use social media in the next 12 months,
however, 45% are not sure how it could help their business
45.0% 44.3%
25.2%
1.5%0%
25%
50%
Our business is not suited for
such technologies
We are not sure how these
technologies would help our
business
Our customers do not use these
tools
We are not aware of these technologies
Reasons For Not Using Social Networking Tools
28.9% 34.1%51.3%
29.6%
55.0%39.7%
32.5%31.7%
26.3%
32.1%
27.5%
30.0%
12.0%11.0%
10.0%
19.8%
7.5%
12.1%
26.5% 23.2%12.5% 18.5%
10.0%18.2%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
How likely are you to use social networking tools in the next 12 months to promote your business
Very unlikely
Somewhat unlikely
Somewhat likely
Very likely
Almost every small business now has a
website
8.8% 4.4% 4.8% 2.9% 1.4% 4.3%
10.5%32.4% 27.0%
19.1% 18.3%21.7%
26.3%
23.5% 28.6%39.7%
32.4%30.3%
26.3%
23.5% 19.0% 22.1%26.8% 23.5%
28.1%16.2% 20.6% 16.2% 21.1% 20.2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
How long have you had your website?
< 1 year 1 - 3 years 4 - 6 years
7 - 10 years More than 10 years
8.02 6.27 6.71 6.68 7.44 7.0Average # of years
68.7%82.9% 78.8% 84.0% 88.8% 80.5%
31.3%17.1% 21.3% 16.0% 11.3% 19.5%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Does your business own a website such as www.yourcompanyname.com?
Yes No
And nearly 60% of the businesses have identified a
dedicated staff to update website content
3.5% 5.9% 7.9%14.7% 19.7%
10.7%3.5%5.9%
20.6% 8.8%
26.8%
13.5%
1.8%
20.6%
17.5%16.2%
14.1%
14.4%
24.6%
8.8%
11.1% 23.5%
9.9%
15.3%15.8%
17.6%
12.7%7.4%
15.5%
13.8%
8.8%
11.8%
15.9% 19.1%
5.6%
12.2%
14.0%
10.3%
4.8%4.4% 2.8%
7.0%21.1%8.8%
4.8% 2.9% 2.8%7.6%
7.0% 10.3% 4.8% 2.9% 2.8% 5.5%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
How frequently do you update content on your website?
Don’t know
Once a year
Once every 6 months
Once every 3 months
Once a month
Once every couple of weeks (twice a month)Once a week
More than once a week
Everyday
29.8%
50.0%
69.8%60.3%
81.7%
59.3%
0%
30%
60%
90%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
Do you have staff dedicated to updating the website content?
How effective has your website been in each of the following areas?
Although both social media and websites have the same
level of effectiveness of creating awareness, websites are a
lot more effective by as much as 13% in driving revenue
83.6%75.6% 72.4%
79.6%72.0% 68.4%
85.6% 83.2% 76.8%87.5%
79.8% 81.3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Increasing awareness of your business
Increasing the number of inquiries or leads for product
or service information
Increasing referrals from existing
customers
Improving your company’s image with customers
Improving customer satisfaction with your
product or service
Increasing business revenue
Effectiveness of Social Media vs Website
Social Media Website
7.5%4.4%
7.8%7.8% 13%
2%
Businesses do track the # of hits to their website but the real
analytics of website traffic starts at higher employee size
categories
47
.4%
66
.2%
68
.3%
64
.7%
76
.1%
65
.1%
35
.1%
54
.4% 61
.9%
58
.8%
77
.5%
58
.4%
40
.4%
19
.1% 3
0.2
%
26
.5%
43
.7%
31
.8%
0%
30%
60%
90%
1-4 5-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 Overall
Actively track # of visitors/hits Analyze website traffic Allow ads on website
The use of CRM to track customer inquiries increases
with the employee size category, and over 33% of the
businesses analyze customer data every week
20.5%
34.1%
50.7%54.7%
59.2%
43.2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 99 Overall
% of SBs That Use CRM Software to Track Customer Inquiries
4.1%
18.3%
33.1%
8.9%
20.7%
13.0%
1.8%
% of SBs that Analyze Customer Related Data to Help Define Marketing Strategies and Tactics
We do not analyze customer data
Every day
Once a week
Once every 2 weeks
Once a month
Once a quarter