Small and midsize businesses are considering or adopting marketing technology to higher engage with new and existing customers. Over a 3rd — 35% — of SMBs are currently considering adopting new martech to higher target audiences. Another 41% are currently adopting new technologies or have done so within the last yr.
These findings come from a study of over 600 SMBs in Verizon Business and Morning Consult’s fifth annual “State of Small Business Survey.”
AI adoption. Thirty percent of SMBs are using AI tools for marketing and social media. This represents a rise of 16 percentage points over last yr’s survey.
Another 42% of SMBs surveyed don’t use AI tools but are considering adopting them.
Social storefronts. Thirty-nine percent of SMBs are in the method of establishing social media “storefronts” or “shops,” or have done so already, within the aim to sell services and products directly to customers through social media platforms. Another 31% are considering making this move.
While the share of those martech adopters stays unchanged from last yr, the share of SMBs adopting social media storefronts is up 8% over last yr.
Concerns over customers. Economic concerns remain the highest concerns for SMBs, but with little change over last yr. However, concerns over customer relationships have increased year-over-year.
The percentage of SMBs either very or somewhat concerned over existing customer relationships has risen 12% YoY. For engaging new customers, concerns are up 9%.
Here is the breakdown on SMB concerns and YoY change.
Why we care. AI-powered tools and marketing technology are not only considerations for the enterprise. Social commerce, and digital experiences generally, have modified the best way consumers shop for services and products, including those goods they buy from SMBs. These responses show that many SMBs are aware of the changes to consumer behavior and are looking to construct and update their stacks to adapt.
Dig deeper: Highlights from the 2024 MarTech Replacement Survey
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