Madison Survey reveals worrying under-investment in Marketing

A decline in marketing spend is causing the initial drop in web traffic caused by pandemic to continue unnecessarily for many small/medium businesses.

A new Madison survey has highlighted a worrying decline in marketing investment, whilst businesses who have maintained or increased marketing are reaping the benefits. 

Driving people to your site is vital during challenging times.  If your business is busy, and you see less need to engage in acquisition marketing, an engagement / reputation strategy will future-proof your business and give you a firm footing for when you need to drive forward with a growth strategy.

A recent Madison survey showed that 71% of small businesses did not have a dedicated marketing budget. 21% of businesses have reduced their marketing spend, with a quarter of those having no idea when investment levels will be increased. This is very worrying.

43% said that (decreased) web traffic since March has not changed – therefore their business has not recovered from the initial shock of COVID-19. However, 36% of businesses report that web traffic is now on the rise.

Now is not the time to take your foot off the marketing pedal.

We looked at a handful of client websites to see whether their web traffic was improving. Three businesses had maintained or increased their marketing spend – they report an 11%, 25% and 50% increase in traffic (July – Sept vs. April -June). Two businesses significantly reduced their marketing – they report a 37% and 78% ongoing decrease in web traffic.

Short term marketing solutions – Google search and display ads, email / SMS marketing, responsive, targeted social media paid marketing, referral third party site listing – and longer term (search engine optimisation, user experience, faster site speeds, and mobile optimisation) opportunities to increase your web traffic and onsite engagement will help your business grow.