Britain's SMEs reveal their most profitable marketing tactics

Britain's SMES reveal their most profitable marketing tactics iii New survey reveals face to face marketing reigns as the most lucrative promotional channel, according to Britain's businesses are Event marketing is the dark horse of this race, embracing the power of online, with a huge 67% of SMES citing this as a marketing channel that wins them business seizing the third spot when it came to the UK's most profitable marketing tactics British SMES Almost three quarters of the UK's SMES say face to face marketing wins them new business, making it the most popular promotional channel according to a new online survey. A study on Britain's most popular marketing tactics has found that a good old-fashioned one-on-one beats new age marketing platforms any day. 71% 37% 10,000 British business owners were asked which promotional channels win them business, and a massive 71% of all respondents revealed that face to face marketing makes them money. The research, conducted by Display Wizard, follows the Santander Corporate & Commercial 2015 Business Growth survey, which revealed that British SMES are looking forward to 37% increase in turnover during the next five years. If it ain't broke The online survey shed light on the popularity of traditional networking a format that appears to With an incredible 71% of SMES endorsing the efficacy of this age-old tactic, the results of the study suggest modern marketing channels are struggling to compete with the primal power of face to face exchanges. have stood the test of time with Britain's business owners. The Google gravy train Unsurprisingly, online marketing Thanks to a breadth of available Google came in a close second - bringing in a sizeable 67% of the overall SME strategies and an impressive ROI, online marketing is one of the UK's most popular advertising channels - especially with Generation Y's entrepreneurs, 83% of whom use digital tactics to win new business. vote. The ex(periential) factor Experiential marketing is fast becoming one of the UK's favourite promotional channels - with a substantial 38% of business owners surveyed revealing that attending events wins them business. Female entrepeneurs in particular swear by event marketing as a means of finding new customers and clients, as almost 50% of female business owners surveyed gave their vote to this tactic. Bringing together the unique benefits of face to face, print media and social media marketing, events are the multipurpose marketing tactic taking Britain's business world by storm. In light of this increasing popularity, it looks like British businesses are stepping up their event marketing budgets - with 34% of SMES revealing that they plan to up their investment this marketing channel in 2016, 10% of whom will increase events budgets by 50%. Some industry professionals have had their say on why events are fast becoming a popular marketing tactic: O What makes event marketing such a powerful channel? For me, it's the impact of conveying enthusiasm and expertise. A strong combination. Alastair Humphreys, Motivational Speaker and Adventurer "Events are a huge marketing opportunity because they can cast a wide net across attendees who may be attracted for many reasons, be it entertainment, education, networking, or career prospects. Your product can then be presented to a captive, targeted, engaged audience and the brand will become synonymous with the success of the event." Elliott Clarke, Clear and Loud PA Hire Events are a really great way to share key information, meet other people (which is often missed in digital world) and focus the mind for the day. Lynsey Sweales, SocialB Honourable mentions AD AD Across the board, Britain's SMES have endorsed marketing tactics founded on candid communication - with Other popular channels backed in the survey included print media and radio - scooping 34% and 19% of the SME vote, respectively suggesting that some of history's most prominent advertising strategies have secured a place in the modern marketing toolbox. A number of the survey's respondents gave honourable mentions to other lead generation tactics they felt deserved a shout-out - with popular answers including referrals and good old-fashioned word of mouth. expressed support for the channels which revolve around direct contact, personal connections and a reputation for superior service. Survey breakdown Which marketing channels won SMES business in 2015? Face to face networking 71.0% Online marketing 66.7% Events 38.4% Print media 34.1% 18.8% Radio Other 2.9% DisplayWizard DISPLAY & EXHIBITION SOLUTIONS This data was gathered in September 2015 and includes responses from 10,000 online users across the UK. www.displaywizard.co.uk huu 曲 」