U.S. GDP Slows, Only 23% Of SMBs Feel Confident In Marketing Strategies

Growth in the U.S. slowed in the first three months of this year, as the effects of high interest rates and inflation took a toll on the economy.

The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) released Thursday grew at an annual rate of 1.1% -- less than expected, the Commerce Department reported.

Despite slowing growth, small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) in the U.S. have a “sunny outlook” about marketing investments, according to a LinkedIn study conducted by YouGov and released today.

LinkedIn analyzed responses from 269 senior business decision-makers in the U.S. It shows just 5% plan to cut marketing budget in the next 12 months. B2B SMBs, 26%, are more likely to allocate higher average proportions of their annual revenue toward the marketing department, compared with 20% of B2C counterparts.

The outlooks might be “sunny,” but U.S. SMB marketers face tough challenges this year. Only 23% feel they will achieve key performance indicators (KPIs) in the current economic environment, and 23% are not confident about their marketing strategy for the year.

When it comes to brand building, 20% say that investing in building their brand will help ensure long-term growth. The economic environment could delay purchases.

SMBs said they will spend budgets on a variety of things to get their respective companies through turbulent times. Some 30 said they will spend budgets on nurturing existing customer relationships, 28% will expand the company’s customer base, and 26% will increase business revenue and market share.

Some 76% said they plan to invest in technology such as marketing automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and online communities.

Thirty-six percent said they will use AI tools to increase creativity, 33% said to improve efficiencies, 31% to create written content, and 28% will use AI to free up staff for more complex work.

When asked to cite the tools and channels they would use, 39% said online community building to grow the company’s customer pipeline, 34% cited marketing automation, 26% said Chat-GPT, and 25% said podcasting.

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