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26% of Small Business Advertisers Plan Increased Ad Spending in 2009

Otilia Otlacan | December 23, 2008

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Looking forward to 2009, more than a quarter of recently surveyed small business owners plan to spend more on advertising, and another 60% plan to spend about the same as in 2008.

The Ad-ology Small Business Marketing Outlook survey found that small business owners are cautiously optimistic going into 2009. While 25% stated they are fearful about the current economic situation and 58% are concerned, 83% expect 2009 sales to be up or about the same as 2008.

When broken down by media type, over half of small business advertisers plan to spend the same or more on the following: Online advertising (69%), Yellow Pages (54%), newspapers (51%), and direct mail (51%).

“Small business owners rely on advertising sales reps for guidance and are clearly looking for consultative partners in the advertising process,” said C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research. “They are more likely to purchase advertising from those that understand their business,” Smith said.

Other key findings from the survey:

* “Knows my company/line of business” is the top attribute small business owners look for in a media advertising sales rep. “Delivers what they promise” is the second most desirable attribute.
* 52% of small business owners surveyed agree with the statement “you can gain market share by marketing while your competitors are cutting back.”
* 74% believe their company “must be one of the first 2-3 that come to a customer’s mind” when they need what the small business owner is selling.
* More than half of respondents plan to spend the same or more time and money on their Web sites and email marketing in 2009.
* The majority of small businesses are not using other emerging media: 77% do not use online video, 83% do not podcast, and 82% do not use mobile advertising.

The Small Business Marketing Survey was conducted in October 2008 by Ad-ology Research to study the attitudes of small business owners. The Small Business Marketing Outlook report is available for purchase through Ad-ology.net.

ABOUT AD-OLOGY RESEARCH

Ad-ology Research analyzes key marketing and advertising trends in over 370 industries and what motivates end-customers. The company’s research is used by over 2,000 advertising agencies, media properties and product marketing departments across the United States. Ad-ology Research is a division of Sales Development Services (SDS), Inc. – a Westerville, Ohio firm founded in 1989.

METHODOLOGY

Ad-ology Research surveyed an online panel of 863 owners of U.S. businesses with less than 100 employees in October 2008. The margin of error for this survey is +/- 3.34 percentage points.

Otilia is the founder and editor of AdOperationsOnline.com, launched in 2008. She currently provides online business consulting through her company, RightFit Media, and blogs about all things online at www.otiliaotlacan.com.