Survey: Budget, Time Biggest Obstacles to Mobile Marketing for SMBs

By Greg Sterling

Network Solutions, which was acquired by Web.com, has put out some interesting survey findings about SMBs and mobile marketing. This was based on a survey of 500 US SMBs with fewer than 100 employees.

The survey found that 60% of SMB respondents had a website but only 26% had a mobile-friendly site. My guess is that the mobile number is “aspirational.” Certainly it isn’t the case that 26% of all US SMBs have a mobile site.

Mobile vs. PC websites



There’s also a very interesting and somewhat paradoxical finding at the heart of the report. A huge 84% of respondents that had invested in mobile marketing said they had seen an increase in “new business activity.” One follow-up question that I would have asked is “how do you know?”

Have you seen an increase in new business activity due to your mobile marketing efforts?



Despite the new business activity the primary motivation to invest in mobile was to “provide better service to existing customers.” Finding new local customers was a very close second, however. This finding indicates that SMBs intuitively recognize the CRM potential of mobile.

Motivation for investing in mobile



Finally 68% of respondents either somewhat or strongly agreed with the following statement: “Mobile marketing is key to my small business growth in the next five years.” They clearly “get it.” But there are obstacles to adoption of mobile, chief among which are a lack of time, perceived lack of budget and lack of understanding of mobile marketing.

Obstacles to mobile marketing



What do you think of these findings?

Source: Screenwerk.com

Answer from Ian Bowen-Morris, Chief Marketing Officer for Telnames:

The UK SMB market is similar – almost half do not have a web site and of those that do – most are not mobile-friendly.

The real question for SMBs to ask before spending is “Do I really need a traditional website?”. The world is going mobile – the next billion people connected to the internet will be doing so not from PCs but from smartphones.

The better question to ask is “What exactly is it that my business needs?”. The vast majority of SMBs in the UK today are service businesses – they just need a simple place online that they can share with customers that clearly outlines what they do and how customers can reach or find them. It doesn’t need to be expensive, expansive or exhausting to build, it just needs to work, look good and be easily accessible.

This is what a .tel from Telnames provides – everything an SMB might expect to see on a directory profile page is there, but under the SMB’s ownership and control. It’s very easy to set up and update, a customer’s business profile can be online within 15 minutes.

The reaction in the UK has been amazing – from pubs to 75 year old jewellers in Hatton Garden, London – they all say “Wow – that was so easy and quick” – can I add a link to my Youtube video?
Sure – check it out – search for “Phil Murray Hatton Garden”

Another comment from Ian Bowen-Morris, Chief Marketing Officer for Telnames:

For me the point is that SMBs are in the best position to manage their contact information and business profile content – they know their business better than anyone else. Most realise that they need to be found in search and they can see that mobile search is booming, including local searches – 95% of smartphone users have used them to search for local services.

So owning and managing their own top level domain that gets picked up by all search engines and that displays all the essential stuff that users on the move need in a mobile-friendly way is what’s needed. Enabling the SMB to make changes and updates at any time with no technical knowledge or web developer required is the thinking behind the new very affordable direct service from Telnames. At just £14.95 (UK) it’s the best way for SMBs to join the mobile party!

http://philmurray.tel/
http://pinterest.com/telnames/

Telnames are now partnering with directory/local search/vertical publishers globally that want to enhance their mobile value proposition for their custoemr base.

http://ianbm.tel/

And one more comment from Ian Bowen-Morris, Chief Marketing Officer for Telnames:

After exhaustive focus groups with 32 SMBs and wave after wave of usability testing, I believe we’ve now figured out the time/value problem with an online self-service solution for SMB end users that gets them marketed effectively on mobiles: http://www.telnames.com

We’ve also developed and API so channel partners can offer Telnames as a managed service, a turn-key way to enhance their existing customer offerings.