Study Finds Small and Medium Size Businesses are More Confident about The Recovery; Ready To Invest
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Study Finds Small and Medium Size Businesses are More Confident about The Recovery; Ready To Invest

January 31, 2012 // Franchising.com // LARGO, FL – While opinions vary on the pace of economic recovery, 55% of small and medium size businesses surveyed reported their business had either already recovered from the recession or they expected to recover within the next 6 months.

And those numbers are even more encouraging for businesses with 20-99 employees, as 62% reported recovery now or within six months according to a recent Valpak survey conducted by Research Now, an independent market research firm.

Business is picking up on Main Street. In response, businesses are thinking about what tactics to use to grow their business – advertising, promotions, staffing and more.

  • 31% said they planned to hire additional staff (a 5% increase over 2010)
  • 15% said they planned to hire temporary help
  • 37% said they planned to expand their product/service offerings

An overwhelming number of businesses said they planned to increase their business marketing/advertising activities to grow their business.

When it comes to advertising, every dollar counts for SMBs and budgets are limited with an average spend of around $17,000 annually.

So how do they plan to market their businesses this year?

  • 67% plan to create or improve their Web presence including SEO and SEM (an increase of 7% from prior year)/li>
  • 57% plan to use social media marketing (and increase of 7% from prior year)
  • 54% plan to increase direct mail and email marketing
  • 45% plan to implement a customer loyalty program
  • 36% plan to increase use of deals, discounts and specials

“What’s particularly interesting is the way our clients are adopting a multi-media approach to marketing their business – combining the best of direct mail, online, deals, mobile and social to create custom, measurable campaigns that fit their business and their target consumer,” said Michael Vivio (@mvivio), President of Valpak. “Business owners are savvier than ever, but they are busy and want help creating personalized programs that provide solutions to their individual business needs – and that’s what we have been doing for more than 40 years.”

As an industry leader for 44 years, Valpak continues to grow and evolve, providing digital coupons and free mobile apps, which allow consumers to save anywhere@anytime. Valpak, known for its hyper-local offers in 170 markets around North America, has more than 40,000 offers online at Valpak.com.

About Valpak®

Valpak, one of the leading direct marketing companies in North America, is owned and operated by Cox Target Media, Inc., a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Media Group, Inc. With nearly 180 franchises throughout the United States and Canada, The Blue Envelope® delivers savings and value to nearly 40 million households each month. Annually, Valpak will distribute some 20 billion offers inserted in more than 500 million envelopes. Valpak also offers digital solutions with www.Valpak.com®, an online site for local savings, which has nearly 70 million offer views each month, as well as most smartphone platforms. For more information, please contact 1-800-676-6878.

About Cox Media Group

Cox Media Group, Inc. is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of Cox Reps. With $1.8 billion in revenue, the company operations include 15 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 85 radio stations, eight daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services. Additionally, CMG owns and operates Valpak, one of the leading direct marketing companies in North America. For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com.

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