SMB Purchase Intent and Contact Preferences

May 12, 2016

Bredin, Inc.www.bredin.com617-868-6369

Strategy Development Research

Increasing SMB Acquisition, Engagement and Retention

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Research Objective

Give SMB marketers a current perspective on SMB purchase intent and contact preferences

• What SMBs will do and buy in the next 18 months

• What they would do with extra cash

• How long it takes to buy in different product categories

• How they prefer to be contacted by vendors

• Which tactics work to close, and accelerate, a sale

• The effect of content marketing on SMBs

• How SMBs promote themselves – and what works

• Which brands understand and serve SMBs best

Methodology

How

• 15-minute online survey

Who

• 318 principals of U.S. companies with <500 employees (5.5%+/- CI)

• 118 with <20 employees (97.7% weighting)• 100 with 20-99 employees (1.9% weighting)• 100 with 100-500 employees (0.3% weighting)• Any industry• See slides 29-33 for participant demographics

When

• February 12 – 26, 2016

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Detailed Results

Purchase Intent

6 n=310

What is your best guess as to when you will do each of these things for your business? (please pick the most likely option in each row; pick the soonest option if you will do any given thing multiple times)

SMBs are most likely to ship a package this year, and purchase new office technology next year

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Hire staff

Get new cellphone/s for myself and/or my team

Launch new products / services for your business

Improve / upgrade current website

Apply for a new / additional credit card

Rent a car for a business trip

Printers

Tablets (e.g., iPad, Surface)

Pay down debt

Get something printed, like business cards, a poster, flyer or mailer

PCs / laptops / desktops

Take a business trip on a plane

Stay in a hotel on a business trip

Ship a package overnight

By the end of June Between July and December Next year After 2017 Don’t know / Never

Purchase Intent (continued)

7 n=310

What is your best guess as to when you will do each of these things for your business? (please pick the most likely option in each row; pick the soonest option if you will do any given thing multiple times)

SMBs are least likely to change landline phone service this year

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Change landline phone service providers

Change / increase business insurance

Phone system

Set up, or change providers of, a company retirement plan

Change / increase employee health or life insurance

Start using a, or switch to a new, payroll company

Change cellphone carriers

Change / upgrade Internet access

Server

Open a new business checking account

Apply for a new loan / line of credit

Create / launch a new website

Increase employee pay / benefits

By the end of June Between July and December Next year After 2017 Don’t know / Never

Purchase Intent: Headcount

8 n=310

What is your best guess as to when you will do each of these things for your business? (please pick the most likely option in each row; pick the soonest option if you will do any given thing multiple times)

Purchase intent varies significantly by company size…

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

100-500

20-99

1-19

Ship a package overnight

100-500

20-99

1-19

Buy PCs / laptops / desktops

100-500

20-99

1-19

Apply for a new loan / line of credit

By the end of June Between July and December Next year After 2017 Don’t know / Never

Purchase Intent: Growth Rate

9 n=310

What is your best guess as to when you will do each of these things for your business? (please pick the most likely option in each row; pick the soonest option if you will do any given thing multiple times)

…and by company growth rate

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Flat or down

Growing

Ship a package overnight

Flat or down

Growing

Get something printed

Flat or down

Growing

Set up, or change providers of, a company retirement plan

By the end of June Between July and December Next year After 2017 Don’t know / Never

Click here for the rest of the

report