SmallBusinessNewz

Campaigner has shared some findings from its State of the Small Business Online Marketing Survey. The firm says that while the economic climate has challenged businesses of all sizes, many small business owners are seeing the beginnings of a turnaround and are positioning for stronger growth in 2010 through the use of web-based marketing tools.

"Email marketing is one of the best ways for small businesses to attract and retain customers while also growing revenue, which were two of the top business challenges identified by small businesses in the survey," said Steve Adams, vice president of marketing for Protus, the provider of Campaigner. "The survey also showed the growing importance of email marketing and other Web-based tools in driving business growth. As we head into 2010, now is the ideal time for small businesses to look at their marketing programs and make sure they have a combination of Web-based and traditional marketing tools in order to best position their businesses for strong revenue growth."

Here are some of the key findings:

- 46% of small businesses surveyed expect to report higher revenues by year end versus 2008 earnings

- Of the small businesses surveyed, those positioned for higher growth in 2010 are spending more on marketing, especially email marketing and other online tools.

- Overall, small businesses are shifting more marketing online versus traditional marketing approaches such as print advertising and direct postal mail

- Top online marketing vehicles include social media/networking, email marketing and search engine marketing

- 82 % surveyed who currently use/plan to use email marketing expect revenue growth in 2009

- 18% who do not use/have no plans to use email marketing expect revenue growth in 2009

"The survey clearly reveals that the use of low-cost Web-based marketing tools is playing a strategic role in helping businesses succeed," said Laurie McCabe, partner, Hurwitz & Associates. "Making a few changes to incorporate more online tools into the marketing mix seems to be a key ingredient to small business success."

Increasing the amount of attention paid to online strategies makes sense. People are doing more of their research online before buying. It's getting to be that time of year when this matters the most too.