yodle s first annual Small business sentiment survey

Transcription

1 yodle s first annual Small business sentiment survey august

2 executive summary Small businesses are usually referred to as the backbone of the U.S. economy. The owners of these businesses justifiably have a reputation of hard work and entrepreneurial spirit, but that does not necessarily give an accurate depiction of their satisfaction or outlook. Yodle commissioned an online survey in June 2013 through a third party research firm to measure the true sentiment of small business owners. The 300+ respondents from across the country own small businesses in a variety of white and blue collar industries ranging from law and financial services to construction. Among other things Yodle s First Annual Small Business Sentiment Survey examines work-life balance, identifies professional and personal concerns, gathers perspective about economic and political issues, and also takes a look at small business owners approach to technology and marketing. Yodle has served small businesses for more than eight years and is proud to reveal the results of its inaugural sentiment survey. 2

3 who was polled? Yodle s First Annual Small Business Sentiment Survey includes a sample of 306 small business owners across the United States that work in services industries. Here s a breakdown of the small business owner respondents by role, age, blue/white collar, amount of time they ve owned their own business, and the number of employees they have. Profile of respondents by role Sole Owners part Owners 63 21% Profile of respondents by the amount of time they ve owned their small business 0-2 years 3-5 years 6-10 years % 17% Profile of respondents by age years years % % 21+ years % 10 Profile of respondents by number of employees none 80 26% % Profile of respondents by collar blue collar % white collar %

4 survey results work-life balance A slight majority of small business owners appear to have a decent work-life balance. 52% of small business owners work 40 hours or less a week, while only nearly 1 out of 10 () small business owners work more than 60 hours a week. 72% of small business owners take at least two weeks of vacation per year. More than 1 out of every 4 (27%) small business owners take at least four weeks of vacation, while the same number (27%) take 1 or less weeks of vacation per year % 27% % 18% 11% 12% 8% 1% None Hours worked per week vacation weeks/year survey results owning a business A significant number of people are content that they own a small business. A vast majority (91%) of small business owners are at least somewhat happy with their choice to go into business for themselves, with more than half (5) reporting that they are extremely happy with their choice Extremely Happy 36% Somewhat Happy How happy are you that you became a small business owner? 1% Indifferent Somewhat Unhappy Not Happy At All 4 The majority (5) of small business owners definitely won t or likely won t sell their business in the next few years. Conversely, over 1 in 4 (2) small business owners are leaning towards not owning their business anymore Would you like to sell your business in the next few years? Definitely, I d prefer not to have this business anymore Maybe, if I could get a fair price 13% Indifferent Probably not, unless I was offered a price I could not refuse 3 No, I plan to run my business indefinitely

5 survey results professional and personal concerns Despite the strong satisfaction levels of most small business owners with regard to being self-employed, many still have significant professional and personal worries. The top three professional worries for small business owners include finding new customers, affording healthcare & other employee benefits, and keeping current customers. Percentage of small business owners that have these professional worries The top three personal worries for small business owners include affording healthcare, saving for retirement, and providing an adequate family lifestyle. Percentage of small business owners that have these personal worries #1 Finding new customers 42% #1 Affording healthcare 48% #2 Affording healthcare and other employee benefits 3 #2 Saving for retirement 46% #3 Keeping current customers 33% #3 Providing an adequate family lifestyle 33% #4 Paying bills for the business 33% #4 Paying bills at home 31% #5 Hiring good employees 2 #5 Saving for college funds 2 #6 Competition 21% survey results government and institution support A large percentage of small business owners generally do not believe that the federal government or other institutions provide adequate support. Only 27 percent of small business owners 27% think that the federal government helps 73% 7 small businesses more than it hinders them. helps hinders 3 out of 4 small business owners believe that the federal government does not provide adequate tax incentives to small business owners. adequate Inadequate Small business owners named trade associations and banks as the two most helpful organizations at 3 and 26% respectively. However, a higher percentage of small business owners (3) reported that they do not find any organizations some of which are specifically set up to support them as helpful to their business. 26% 3 3 7% 8% small business administration federal government local government chamber of commerce trade associations banks none of them are helpful 5

6 survey results economy and affordable healthcare act More than half of small business owners (5) are at least somewhat optimistic about the economy. 61% of respondents think that the Affordable Healthcare Act will have a negative impact on small businesses % 32% How would you describe your outlook on the economy? 16% 16% % What impact do you think the Affordable Healthcare Act will have on small businesses? 1 32% Very Optimistic Optimistic Somewhat Optimistic Neutral Somewhat Pessimistic Pessimistic Very Pessimistic Very Positive Positive Somewhat Positive No Impact Somewhat Negative Negative Very Negative survey results technology and marketing approaches Most small business owners have still not adopted modern technology or new marketing techniques. Although just over half of small business owners use technology for accounting, only a minority use automated technology for other key business operations. Technology adoption rates for various business functions are as follows: #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 Accounting Appointment Booking and Scheduling Customer Relationship Management Point-of-Sale Systems Acquisition Marketing 51% Almost 1 in 4 (23%) of small business owners report that they don t spend any money on marketing, while just over half (56%) spend less than $500 a month % $0 38% $1-249 On average how much is your business monthly marketing budget? 18% $ A majority of small business owners don t have a website (52%) or a mobile-optimized website (9). $ % $ % $1,000-2,000 3% Over $2,000 6

7 survey results marketing effectiveness and measurement Given lack of spend on marketing, it s unsurprising that small business owners identify word of mouth and professional referrals as their most effective customer acquisition approaches, at 78% and 56% respectively. Additionally, more than half (56%) of small business owners do not measure the results of the marketing efforts. Effective Marketing Channels for Finding New Customers How do you measure your results for marketing? #1 Word of Mouth 78% #2 Business Referrals 5 #3 Business Websites 31% #1 #2 I do not measure results from marketing I track the number of phone calls I receive and where they come from 56% 31% #4 Marketing 13% #5 Online Directories 13% #3 I track the number of s I receive and where they come from #6 Online Advertising 12% #4 I count likes or check-ins #7 Social Media 11% #5 I track in some other way 6% #8 Print Directories #6 I use a marketing vendor that tracks customer leads for me #9 Event Marketing #10 Direct Mailings 8% #11 Location Signage 7% #12 Print Ads 7% #13 Truck/Vehicle Signage 7% #14 SEO 6% #15 Other #16 Radio Ads 2% #17 Daily Deal Coupons 1% #18 TV Ads 1% 7

8 about yodle Yodle connects consumers to local businesses simply and cost-effectively. The combination of automated technology and comprehensive customer support makes Yodle easy to use. Yodle s offering is also ROI-driven: local businesses set a budget for which they receive calls and s from qualified consumers. Today, Yodle delivers results for more than 35,000 local businesses. To do so, Yodle establishes a comprehensive desktop and mobile web presence, implements unique SEO techniques, and deploys proprietary paid search technology that dynamically optimizes online media buys across multiple desktop and mobile outlets. Yodle s solution also includes relationship marketing, display advertising, and a simple performance dashboard. Yodle s competitive advantage is derived from the sheer scale of its local performance data across multiple industries. Yodle is ranked #28 in the Forbes list of America s most promising companies. For more information on Yodle, visit yodle.com. 8