In the prevailing commercial environment, effectively marketing an enterprise’s products or services can prove challenging for SMEs. To address these obstacles efficiently, Constant Contact’s Small Business Now series provides valuable insights into the current trends and challenges that small and medium-sized enterprises are currently experiencing in Canada. How do they achieve it? By integrating exhaustive research and expert opinions. Plus, this series not only provides knowledge to SMEs but also equips them with practical suggestions to enhance their achievements. Let’s delve into some of the findings from Constant Contact’s latest study without any further ado.
Listing Barriers that Impede Effective Marketing
One aspect that impedes a good marketing campaign from going in full throttle is the lack of resources. This is one of the primary obstacles preventing SMEs from optimizing their marketing efforts. This surpasses all other countries surveyed, as 37% of Canadian SMEs identify it as their principal challenge, be it limited manpower, finances, or time. More than half of Canadian SMEs have less than one hour per day to dedicate to marketing, and another 56% say they consistently put their marketing activities off for later. The limited availability of resources highlights the critical situation in which small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must develop approaches that achieve significant outcomes with minimal financial outlay.
Monitoring Cost & Expenditure Trends
Essentially, Constant Contact’s report reveals that a considerable 63% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada devote an annual budget of less than $14,000 CAD to marketing, which is the lowest expenditure among the countries surveyed. Moreover, an alarming 11% of Canadian SMBs intend to further reduce their marketing expenditures this year. These statistics emphasize the criticality for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to implement economic marketing strategies, yield concrete outcomes, and not place an undue financial burden.
Seeking Effective Marketing Strategies
Even though digital marketing tools and platforms are abundant, a considerable proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada struggle to develop effective marketing strategies. Just 23% of Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) express a high degree of confidence in the effectiveness of their marketing strategy – the lowest among all countries surveyed. Moreover, an astounding 90% of Canadian SMBs find it difficult to determine the most appropriate message for their intended audience. This underscores the imperative for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to utilize data-driven insights and implement personalized strategies in order to effectively connect with their target audience.
Adopting a Multichannel Marketing Approach
Our current era is characterized by diverse communication channels and platforms. As a result, it is important for SMEs to utilize multiple marketing channels to amplify their reach and engagement. As such, Constant Contact’s data reveals that 82% of Canadian SMEs recognize that multichannel campaigns typically generate better results, but 44% of aren’t using more than onemarketing channel in their campaigns. Further, just 15% of Canadian SMEs feel confident that they are using the right channels to reach their customers. Using a multichannel marketing strategy allows SMEs to diversify their outreach efforts, increase brand exposure, and form stronger relationships with their target audience across several touchpoints.
In the end, the Small Business Now report by Constant Contact provides invaluable insights into the dominant trends and obstacles influencing the SME sector in Canada. Limited financial resources, growing time constraints, and and uncertainty about how to execute effective marketing campaigns are just a few of the challenges that SMEs face on their marketing journey.
The good news is, SMEs in Canada can effectively surmount these obstacles and establish a foundation for long-term expansion by making a few small changes. A marketing platform like Constant Contact can help SMEs automate their marketing so they can spend less time worrying about campaigns and messaging, and give their full attention to the rest of their business. By leveraging technology, Canadian SMEs can also learn more about which marketing channels their customers respond to, and deliver the right message to the right customers at the right time — all without adding any extra work to their plate.
Check out Constant Contact’s official website for more information on their marketing solutions by clicking here.
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