With all the buzz around social media and digital media, for many SMBs the traditional marketing bandwagons are still rolling and delivering great ROI results according to a survey by BIA/Kelsey. Newspapers and direct mail still ranked #1 at 32.2% and #2 at 31.6% when it came to the overall percentage of use by SMBs.
What is also interesting in this traditional market usage survey was the ROI for newspapers was still rated low with only 26% of those surveyed reporting a high ROI. Yet TV received a high ranking of 50% for delivering at least a 10-19 return on investment (excellent) or a 20 plus return on investment (extraordinary).
There was another even more revealing fact hidden within this study:
More and more SMBs are measuring the results of their traditional marketing efforts and redirecting their marketing dollars for the greatest impact. Return on investment is now becoming a priority. Possibly this change in marketing behavior is due to the ability to measure the impact of digital media as well as social media.
After working with many SMBs respective to their overall strategic plan, this change in attitude about ROI marketing is indeed refreshing.
All marketing actions should be consistently measured to determine ROI.
For years, some in the traditional media promoted impressions such as newspapers, billboards and broadcast medias. SMBs bought into that rationalization and now for whatever the reasons have begun recognize effective marketing must deliver results that are positive.
After all, the purpose of marketing is to attract attention and begin to build relationships. If SMBs do not measure how much actual attraction they have garnered and connect those results to their overall sales, then the only sound they will not hear is the ringing of the cash register.
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