Survey & Infographic: Are Small Businesses Ready for Mobile ...

To kick off small businesses month, the folks over at Web.com produced a survey and infographic on how small businesses are leveraging the mobile channel. ?Among the many stats, it was revealed that 84% of small businesses?currently?using mobile marketing have seen a sizable increase in new business.

The company surveyed 500 small business owners with under 100 employees and found?that while 69% of small businesses consider mobile marketing crucial to their growth in the next five years, a majority of them are yet to fully leverage the medium.

?With more and more consumers specifically searching for local businesses on their mobile devices, it is imperative that small businesses invest in a mobile presence,? said David Brown, chairman and chief executive officer of Web.com. ?Having a mobile presence can be a huge competitive advantage for small businesses trying to attract local customers by instantly introducing a potential customer to their business? products and services in a mobile-enhanced way.?

Among the findings, the survey also revealed that . . .

1. U.S. Small Businesses Maintain Good Web-Presence But Still Lack Mobile Presence: While 60% of small businesses surveyed have a website, only 26% have a mobile-friendly website (same layout/content as standard site adjusted to suit your smartphone screen) while an even smaller percentage (14% of small business owners have a stand-alone mobile website (content/layout designed specifically for mobile purposes).
2. 84% of Small Businesses Currently with Mobile Presence See Increase in New Business Activity: Out of the 500 small business owners surveyed, 14% have a stand-alone mobile website, of which 84% indicated that they have seen an increase in new business activity due to their mobile marketing efforts. This alone serves as validation to make the move into mobile for the majority of small businesses that are skeptical to invest in mobile efforts.
3. While Mobile Search Becomes Mainstream, Small Businesses Still Not Ready to be Found Via Smartphones: There is a large gap between the rapidly increasing mobile search volumes and the majority of small businesses lagging behind in mobile search strategy. Over 61% of small businesses currently do not have a mobile search strategy and are missing out on consumers trying to find them via a smartphone device.
4. Biggest Hurdle to Embrace Mobile is Limited Time and Resources: It?s not surprising that time and resource limitations prevent small businesses from entertaining new solutions to market themselves. The survey revealed that 64% of small business owners are also acting as their one-person marketing team. This puts pressure on the small business owner to wear multiple hats and find the time to build a mobile presence besides running other aspects of their business.
5. 64% of Small Businesses Will Spend More on Mobile Marketing This Year ? 2012 might be the year when mobile-savvy small businesses increase their spend on mobile marketing initiatives. 64% of small business owners surveyed expressed an intention to increase their mobile investments this year, with only 33% indicating that their mobile spend this year will remain the same as last year.

The full survey results can be downloaded here, and Web.com produced the following infographic using the results:

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