Small and medium sized businesses are steadily abandoning traditional marketing in favour of using mobile and online channels. According to research conducted recently in the UK, by Pitney Bowles, this is done in order to reach the widest group of consumers.

Their survey shows that 26 percent of medium and small-sized businesses reported that traditional marketing accounts now only comprise 10 percent of their total marketing activity. At the same time, 22 percent of these businesses stated that they do not use any kind of conventional marketing practices.

SME Mobile & Online Marketing

A Common Reason

Small and medium-sized businesses provide nearly 60 percent of private sector jobs across the country. Many of these companies are very ambitious and plan to expand within two to three years. This is one reason why they are using online and mobile marketing strategies rather than conventional ones.

One main reason for this is that people in the UK are now addicted to their smartphones (Do you sense a bit of panic, when you can’t find your phone?). Mobiles provide people with Internet access at any time along with a mode for communicating with others. This enables medium and small-sized businesses to offer their products in a convenient way.

It also lets customers visit online stores at any place and time they want. At the same time, it helps people place orders when it is convenient for them to do so. This often results in an increase in profits for these businesses. This revenue is very important because companies often use it to fuel their growth.

The Slow Death of Traditional Offline Marketing

With this development, conventional offline marketing has been hard hit. Research also shows that small and medium-sized businesses are more likely to move away from traditional modes of marketing. Print advertising is the method that has sustained the most damage. Before the proliferation of online and mobile marketing, 40 percent of small and medium-sized businesses utilized this approach.

Only 28 percent of small businesses are planning to invest in this approach in 2014. At the same time, direct mail still has a very important role in many companies’ marketing plans. A fifth of small companies are planning to use this marketing strategy in 2014.

A Growing Confidence

While print advertisement is experiencing a slow and painful death, there is growing optimism in the field of mobile and online marketing. Mobile optimised websites along with mobile QR codes and payments will steadily attract investment from many small and medium-sized businesses this year. At the same time, mobile codes are now attracting nearly two times as much interest as they did in the previous year.

Mobile and Digital Requires Smaller Budgets

The comparative cost will always depend on the kind of marketing campaign that a company will run. However, digital and mobile marketing strategies require a smaller amount of money than conventional marketing. This is because online advertising only costs six pounds per thousand users. This is much cheaper than other marketing methods. Direct marketing costs 315 pounds per thousand people reached. At the same time, radio and newspaper advertising cost 91 and 42 pounds per thousand respectively.

Other Advantages

There are numerous advantages that companies may obtain from mobile and online marketing. One of these benefits is that embracing digital and online marketing effectively gives a business the ability to compete in both international and domestic markets. With digital and online marketing, nobody knows the size of a business. It enables small companies to punch above their actual weight. It is also very effective in both expenses and manpower.

This kind of marketing is also easy to measure. This helps businesses determine what they are doing right and wrong with their marketing strategy. It also yields much faster responses than traditional marketing techniques.

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