2012 Impact of Social Business in Small and Medium Business Study (Study Results plus Additional Cross Tabs and Inquiry)

The SMB Group's latest report, 2012 Small and Medium Social Business Study, developed in partnership with CRM Essentials, assesses how and why small and medium businesses (SMB) are using social media in their businesses today. The study also provides trending analysis based on comparison with SMB Group's 2011 Small and Medium Social Business Study.

The 2012 study reveals that overall use of social media is up from 44% to 53% among small businesses (1-99 employees) and up from 52% to 63% among medium businesses (100-999 employees) year-over-year. In addition, in 2012, 35% of SMBs using social media indicate that they have replaced and/or displaced other tools with social media. The tools that SMBs are most likely to have replaced with social media include direct mail, newspapers/business trade journals/magazines, yellow pages, and email marketing.

However, despite this double-digit rise in adoption, the gap is widening between SMBs that are using social media in an informal, ad hoc manner and those taking a more planned, strategic approach. “The needle for SMBs using social media as part of a planned, corporate strategy has barely moved at all,” according to Sanjeev Aggarwal, SMB Group Founder and Partner. “More SMBs are using social media, but they lack the solutions, expertise and guidance to integrate them with other business processes and use them more effectively in their businesses.”

This has significant implications, as study results also show that SMBs that use social media strategically are more satisfied with the results than ad hoc users, who are more skeptical about the value of social media. Furthermore, SMBs that use social media as part of a planned corporate approach are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to anticipate revenue growth than ad hoc users. “SMBs need education, guidance and solutions that take time, labor and confusion out of building a structured social media process,” continues Aggarwal.

Other select findings from the study include:

- The top reasons that drive SMBs to adopt social media continue to center on sales and marketing goals. Only a small percentage are using social media for non-sales and marketing functions, such as human resources, customer service and product development.
- The top challenges SMBs cite to using social media more strategically are lack of time; inability to measure value, difficulty integrating social media with other business activates; and lack of budget.
- While SMB adoption of social media has been on the rise over the past year, median spending for both small and medium companies has remained the same as in 2011.
- SMB social media adoption varies most by industry and by age of decision-maker, and less by company size or primary type of customer that the business sells to.

These results highlight just a few of the detailed findings in the SMB Group 2012 Small and Medium Social Business Study. Fielded in June 2012, the study provides a comprehensive view of SMB social media adoption and plans, including:

- Perceptions and attitudes about social business.
- Key drivers and inhibitors for adopting social business solutions.
- Business activities and functions that SMBs use/plan to use social media for.
- Social media channel penetration, frequency of use, and satisfaction.
- How SMBs measure social media results.
- Integration requirements for linking social business with existing business applications.
- Who is involved in making social business decisions?
- Top sources for information and advice on social media.
- Social media budgets.
- Segmentation by company size, industry, primary type of customer SMBs sell to (e.g. B2B, B2C, etc.), age of decision-maker, etc.
- Year-over-year trending analysis.

Option A: Sponsorship Package—Study Results plus Additional Cross Tabs and Inquiry

Includes all the deliverables in Option B plus:

- Web conference presentation of key findings and Q&A
- 3 hours of additional inquiry (including additional crosstabs)
- PDF of study results with employee size crosstab banner for all questions
- Analysis and crosstabs by employee size, adoption and industry SHOW LESS READ MORE >

Executive Summary Agenda

Study Goals

Methodology

Definitions Used For This Study

Additional Resources Available

Top Takeaways

SMB Use/Plans for Social Media

Top Takeaways—Penetration and Plans

Top Takeaways—Business Activities and Social Media

Top Takeaways—Budgets and Value

Top Takeaways—Segmentation

Key Implications for Vendors

Activities that SMBs Use/Plan to Use Social Media for in Their Businesses

What Activities or Programs Do SMBs Engage In?

How Do SMBs Accomplish These Activities?

How Do SMBs Use/Plan to Use Use Social Media for these Activities?

Comparison of Ad Hoc and Strategic Users: Use of Social Media for Specific Activities

How Do SMBs Accomplish These Activities?

Customer Service/Support Channels

Current Capabilities of Websites

How Satisfied Are SMBs with the Results they Are Achieving from Social Media in these Areas?

Penetration of and Satisfaction with Social Media for Business Activities - Structured Users (small business)

Penetration of and Satisfaction with Social Media for Business Activities - Structured Users (medium business)

Have Social Media Replaced Other Forms of Sales, Marketing or Service Activities?

Importance of Linking Traditional Marketing, Sales and Customer Service Applications/Processes with Social Media

Comparison of Ad Hoc and Strategic Users: Linking Sales, Marketing or Service Activities with Social Media

Do SMBs Integrate/Plan to Integrate Social Media with Traditional Marketing, Sales and Customer Service Solutions/Processes?

Social Media Channels Use, Plans and Perceptions

SMB Use/Plans for Social Media

What are the Top Social Media Channels SMBs Currently Use?

Comparison of Ad Hoc and Strategic Users: Social Media Channels Used

How Frequently Do SMBs Use Social Media Channels? Structured Users

How Frequently Do SMBs Use Social Media Channels? Ad Hoc Users

How Frequently Do SMBs Use Social Media Channels? Structured

How Frequently Do SMBs Use Social Media Channels? Ad Hoc

How Beneficial are Social Media Channels to Your Business? Structured

How Beneficial are Social Media Channels to Your Business? Ad Hoc

How Beneficial are Social Media Channels to Your Business? Structured

How Beneficial are Social Media Channels to Your Business? Ad Hoc

Penetration and Benefit of Social Media Channels - Structured

Penetration and Benefit of Social Media Channels – Ad Hoc Users

Penetration and Benefit of Social Media Channels - Structured Users

Penetration and Benefit of Social Media Channels – Ad Hoc Users

Comparison of Ad Hoc and Strategic Users: Planned Social Media Channels

Social Media Management and Budgets

Departments Involved With Social Media

Departments Involved With Social Media

Comparison of Ad Hoc and Strategic Users: Track and Measure Social Media

Do You Use Free/Paid Tools to Monitor and Manage Social Media?

What Free and Paid Tools Do SMBs Use to Monitor and Manage Social Media?

Social Media Budgets

Comparison of Ad Hoc and Strategic Users: Social Media Budgets

Social Media Drivers and Inhibitors

What are SMBs Top Challenges in Getting Value from Social Media?

What are the Top Social Media Channels SMBs are Planning to Use?

What Would Delay or Accelerate Adoption of Social Media Solutions? (Respondents that Plan to Use)

What Would Delay and Accelerate Adoption of Social Media Solutions? (Respondents that Plan to Use)

What are the Top Reasons for Not Using Social Media? (Respondents with No Plans to Use

Demographic Segmentation Highlights

Differences in Social Media Use/Plans by Expected Change in Annual Revenues

Differences in Social Media Use/Plans by Industry

Differences in Social Media Use/Plans by Type of Customers SMBs Sell To

Differences in Social Media Use/Plans by Phase of Business

Primary Customers – Social Media Adoption

Primary Customers – Social Media Usage Functions

Primary Customers – Social Media Channel Usage