According to new survey data from Constant Contact, while most small business owners are “do-it-yourselfers,” handling email to SEO in-house, many outsource select activities related to
advertising and website management. Though there are marketing activities that small businesses handle largely in-house, of the 96% of those who handle social media in-house, 19% said they would
prefer to outsource this responsibility.
The majority of small businesses surveyed conduct email and related marketing activities, including newsletters and surveys, in-house. When it
comes to outsourcing, small businesses are focusing on those marketing initiatives that have larger associated costs and require more time away from running their core business.
Small Business Outsource Practice |
Initiative | % Outsourcing |
TV/Radio Ads | 40% |
SEO | 35% |
Online Banner Ads | 23% |
Website | 22% |
Local
Print Ads | 20% |
Email newsletters | 3% |
Social media | 3% |
Source: Constant Contact, September 2013 |
Christopher M. Litster, Senior Vice President, Constant Contact, says “… small businesses… (say) it’s challenging to keep pace with
evolving online marketing technologies… Facebook ads, mobile-optimized websites, Google Analytics… understandable that many outsource these kinds of activities… “
Among the activities that small businesses handle in-house but would prefer to outsource, social media marketing tops the list. There is a clear gap between small businesses that dooutsource and those want to outsource, notes the report:
Outsource Preference Gap (% of Respondents) |
Marketing
Activity | Outsource | Prefer to Outsource | %
Point Gap |
Social Media | 3% | 19% | 16 |
SEO | 35% | 50% | 15 |
Local Print Ads | 20% | 32% | 12 |
Online Banner Ads | 23% | 34% | 11 |
TV/Radio Ads | 40% | 51% | 11 |
Website | 22% | 31% | 9 |
Email
newsletters | 3% | 8% | 5 |
Source: Constant Contact, September 2013 |
Litster noted that “… in an earlier Constant Contact
survey… though 80% said they conduct social media marketing… more than half (say)… it’s the marketing activity they need the most help with… “
Cost
is an issue in not outsourcing these marketing responsibilities. The percentages ranged from 46% saying they cannot afford to outsource SEO, to 29% saying they cannot afford to outsource online banner
ads.
Cost Major Factor in Not Outsourcing |
Marketing Initiative | Can’t Afford |
SEO | 46% |
TV/radio | 41 |
Website | 38 |
Local print ads | 36 |
Social media | 36 |
Online banner ads | 29 |
Source: Constant Contact, September 2013 |
Survey respondents estimated that they, their employees, and their
volunteers spend a combined total of approximately 33 hours per week on marketing activities. The mean dollar amount of the value of an extra hour in their day is $273, ranging to
$5,000.
Litster.concludes that, though “… 67% (of the respondents)… don’t have enough time… to get everything done… the monetary value
of their time… compared that to the time spent on activities they’d prefer to outsource… like social media… outsourcing (may) prove (to be) more
cost-effective…”
For additional
information and access to the PDF report from Constant Contact, please visit here.