A line from the 1977 hit song “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees seems to have accurately depicted the goals of small and medium size business (SMB) owners during the pandemic, “Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin’ I’m stayin’ alive…” SMBs were hit hard by the pandemic, with thousands never reopening after restrictions were lifted. The strategies employed by the survivors, though, may be a roadmap to future SMB success.
A study by Mailchimp revealed that small businesses alone grew online sales 61% in 2020 compared to a year earlier. Mailchimp said its clients reported 515.3 million orders last year. All told, they reported that clients sent out more than 333.5 billion emails last year, an average annual increase of 21.15%.
Data gathered by the MediaPost’s Email Insider strongly suggests that SMBs need to consider the following if they’re to succeed: 31% felt they need to educate and make consumers more aware of their business, another 27% believed that they needed to better position their businesses as being trustworthy and credible, and 25% said they intended to promote new products, features or services.
Email Insider also reported on how SMBs responded and adjusted to the pandemic. At the top of the list was reducing spending and/or resources cited by 58%. Tied at 54% were investigating new ways to market and sell and investments in new skills, processes, and staff. Another 50% made changes to their business model, and 37% said they took losses and/or closed. Only 9% said they made no changes whatsoever.
SMBs heavily affected by the pandemic employed an average of 9.35 digital tools in the fourth quarter of 2020 according to Email Insider. Lesser affected firms used an average of 6.75. Leveraged custom sign-up forms were employed by 29% of the more-affected SMBs compared to 21% of those less affected. The difference was even greater on the use of automated brand and design tools. 21% of the most affected used them while only 10% of the less affected did.
MailChimp reported that email automation among its customers rose 11% in 2020 over the previous year. Of interest to SMBs thinking of increasing their emails are these industries which saw the biggest gains last year. Home and garden rose 113%, computers and electronics 108%, E-coupons/daily deals 106%, restaurants 85%, food services 84%, business and finance 68%, health and fitness as well as ecommerce 67%, and sports 60%.
Among the many organizations advocating for support of local merchants, many of which are SMBs, is Support Local which partnered with USA Today on this effort. They see local support as vital to the health and vibrance of communities and accept listings from local SMBs whose cities are not yet included on their list. It’s another link to stayin’ alive.
Other strategies that have helped SMBs include promoting sales of gift cards or gift certificates. Check out potential subscription partners like FabFitFun, CauseBox, and others that include SMB products. They offer opportunities for greater exposure. Continue to foster good community relations by partnering with nonprofits whose missions align with the business and keep asking for glowing comments and reviews from loyal customers to not just “stay alive” but flourish.