The results of a global survey have shed light on the concerns facing small to medium businesses (SMBs) in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) regarding the economic climate. The research, conducted by Constant Contact with Ascend2, found that a significant 83% of ANZ SMBs are apprehensive about the impact of the economy on their businesses this year.

Furthermore, the survey unveiled that 50% of ANZ businesses dedicate less than $15,000 per year to marketing, with 23% allocating less than $1,500. Coupled with this, the study discovered a significant 59% of local SMBs chronically or habitually delay marketing themselves, more than in any other surveyed regions which included the UK, the US and Canada. Interestingly, despite the relative reluctance to engage in marketing, ANZ SMBs were revealed as the most likely of the surveyed countries to use email marketing, with 59% utilising this as a primary marketing channel.

While ANZ SMBs seem focussed on conserving costs in a challenging economic climate, a contradictory finding was the intent of 46% of businesses in ANZ to increase marketing spend. This figure was the highest compared to the other polled countries. Furthermore, almost half of ANZ SMBs – 48% – plan to raise their marketing budgets by at least 10% this year. It appears that the concerns about the economy may drive SMBs to double down on marketing to ensure business survival.

Renee Chaplin, VP Asia Pacific for Constant Contact, explained the apparent contradiction, stating, “Nearly 90 per cent of small businesses across Australia and New Zealand are concerned about the current economic climate impacting their businesses negatively this year, which might suggest they’d want to pull back on their marketing spend to reduce costs… But the data tells us they intend to increase their marketing efforts in a bid to survive economic headwinds.”

Despite a clear intention to allocate more financial resources to marketing, the time and effort dedicated to it is markedly less. A startling 58% of ANZ SMBs direct less than one hour per day to marketing activities, tied with Canada for the lowest in the study. Ms Chaplin explained this trend, acknowledging the challenges SMBs face, “Part of the reason local SMBs put off marketing more than any other task is because they see it as a challenge, which is understandable as it’s not an area of expertise for many SMB owners.”

The results also revealed that customer retention was a chief concern for SMBs in ANZ. Moreover, ANZ SMBs demonstrated a clear understanding of the benefits of multi-channel marketing, with 85% agreeing that utilising multiple channels typically results in better outcomes. Despite this, less than a fifth attested to consistently running multi-channel campaigns, indicating a potential area of growth.

Overall, the results of the survey highlight the delicate balancing act of SMBs during uncertain economic times. As ANZ businesses seem poised to ramp up marketing efforts, success will be heavily dependent on how effectively these resources are used.