LinkedIn has revealed new research that found Australian small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are optimistic about the value of marketing and are committed to their marketing budgets despite economic turmoil.
According to social media data, Australian SMBs’ average annual marketing investment is now almost a quarter (23.5%) of their annual business revenue. media platform.
This boosts the overall confidence of Australian SMBs who see marketing as a key tool for business growth and are willing to maintain or even increase their marketing budgets in order to generate revenue and remain competitive in the market. It reflects.
Looking ahead to 2023, the top priorities for companies are growing their customer base (40%), nurturing existing customer relationships (39%), building brand loyalty, and increasing business revenue and market share (30% each). ) is.
To achieve this, many companies (71%) have started or will continue to invest in new technologies such as AI as part of their marketing strategies.
SMBs use creative opportunities to increase brand value and awareness
With the economy in turmoil, many SMBs are looking at business innovation and automation as a way to go, but a large cohort (71%) faces challenges when it comes to creative marketing solutions. says there is. Key challenges included a lack of creative talent and knowledge in the business (21%), finding a balance of solutions for existing and new audiences (21%), and a lack of long-term creative deployment. Includes certainty (20%).
3 in 10 (29%) SMBs say they want to explore new ways to connect with customers because the economic downturn and budget shifts are introducing new creative solutions and technologies into their future marketing strategies The desire is clear.
Given the wider benefits of creativity, Amy MillsLMS Director said:
“In this difficult time, smart business owners are using this moment to their advantage, leveraging creativity, automation and marketing AI tools to show how they are adding value to their customers. Harnessing creativity helps business owners get more out of their limited budgets.”
Despite the business challenges, small businesses are a firm believer in building brands and connecting with customers through marketing, demonstrating they are playing the long game. In fact, the majority (88%) believe their business has successfully increased brand awareness through marketing and referrals. SMBs are wisely leveraging timely innovations in technology and generative AI to stay ahead and navigate economic uncertainty.
Nearly a quarter (23%) believe it is wise to lean into marketing to ensure a positive exit from this moment. Because we believe that after periods of economic uncertainty, companies that recover faster are those that maintained or increased their spending during a recession.
Australian SMBs are using AI technology to advance their business priorities
The survey found that most SMBs are looking at ways to innovate for the future, especially through the use of marketing technology tools. More specifically, 7 in 10 (71%) are investing in areas such as marketing automation, AI, and online communities as part of their budget, and 7 in 10 (69%) say ChatGPT is a marketing I agree that it can be useful for business in LinkedIn data.
However, we found that some SMBs are not investing in marketing technology tools, perhaps because they are not familiar with ChatGPT/AI. 76% of them said they need to learn more about this product.
Regarding the rise of SMBs using marketing automation, Mills added: Fortunately, with the help of AI, companies can effectively deploy creative marketing, optimize ROI, and achieve desired goals while also being able to tackle tasks that require a higher level of thinking and competence. Staff can be released. ”
Campaign Manager Quick Mode helps SMBs build their brand
SMB marketers are expected to take on more responsibility with fewer resources and spread their expertise across a wide range of workstreams. With limited time, learning a new tool can be difficult. To make it easier for new her SMB advertisers to create and launch their first ad campaign on her LinkedIn, we are introducing Quick Mode, an easy way to create a campaign within her campaign manager. increase.
This feature makes it easier than ever for new users to create and run advertising campaigns on LinkedIn, with lower barriers to entry and higher value jobs like reaching the right audience and building your brand. You will be able to concentrate on
Without having to figure things out on their own, SMBs can use Quick Mode to achieve their brand-building goals more efficiently and confidently. This means you can spend more time on other areas of your business.
