FLORIDA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER AT IRSC
SMALL RETAILERS FIND MORE CREATIVE WAYS
TO REACH CUSTOMERS THAN EVER BEFORE
20
TCBusiness.com
The death of the small retailer has been
greatly exaggerated. A new study shows
that contrary to popular belief by some
economists and analysts, there is tremendous
fluidity and plenty of options when
it comes to how small businesses reach
customers.
The extent that small retailers are using
their options may surprise you.
The study found that small and medium
brick-and-mortar retailers have been able
to exploit technology to their benefit. The
internet is effectively strengthening these
retailers by allowing them to reach more
customers with their existing infrastructure.
When a survey of 2,000 small-to-medium
retailers asked how they reached
their customers, the study, which was
recently published by the Data Catalyst
Institute, found that most readily used the
internet to find and retain customers.
What’s more, they found significant
success, which has served to help small retailers
continue to compete in a crowded
marketplace. Nearly 80% of those surveyed
reported having a brick-and-mortar
retail establishment, but an almost identical
amount also said that they do some
wholesale sales, too.
But those are far from the only methods
by which small retailers reach customers.
Almost 70% reported having their own
web store and 70% said they participated
in some third-party online marketplace to
get sales, like Amazon Marketplace, etsy
or eBay.
The typical retailer surveyed uses all of
these methods as well as social media. According
to the survey, revenue from physical
stores accounts for just under a quarter
of the average firm’s revenue while online
marketplaces and web stores comprise
35% of all revenue. The survey also found
that 72% of these retailers get almost half
of their revenue online.
The survey found:
• Small business sellers have many
methods of reaching consumers to choose
from: online and offline, wholesale and
retail, online marketplaces, and direct-toconsumer
sales. The evolution of traditional
retail alongside the growth of digital
selling has created an infinite variety of options
and aggressive competition for sellers’
attention, investment and allegiance.
• The typical SMB seller today uses
five different methods to sell products to
consumers. The four most popular ones
include both traditional and modern
sales methods. They are: brick-and-mortar
physical retail stores 79% of small businesses
use, wholesaling 78%, third-party
online marketplaces 68% and a seller’s
owned and operated web store 68%. On
average, 72% of small business revenue is
driven by these four sales methods.
• Within sales methods, small business
retailers also frequently use more than one
competitive vendor. Taking online marketplaces
as an example, a whopping 87% of
SMB sellers on Amazon’s online marketplace
also sell on at least one other online
marketplace, including 54% selling on
Walmart’s marketplace and 50% on eBay.
• The small retailers that use more
methods are also far more optimistic
about their businesses’ futures. They
project higher revenue this year vs. last
year and are more likely to believe their
industry and the U.S. economy are in good
or excellent shape.
“With so many options out there for
small retailers to market their business,
sometimes the direction to take can be
overwhelming,” says Leanna Haag, digital
marketing specialist with the Florida SBDC
at Indian River State College. “Having a
strategy to who to market to and the correct
message is more important than ever.
“Through the development of a marketing
plan and utilizing targeted marketing
tactics, small retailers can be very effective
in reaching prospects and customers without
spending a large amount of marketing
budget,” she says.
If you are looking to be more effective
with a marketing strategy and plan in
2022, the FSBDC is offering a three-week,
12-hour interactive course that will discuss
how to properly target prospects; how
to craft an effective marketing strategy;
how to develop a marketing tactical plan;
and includes hands-on instruction of
how to implement a marketing plan. The
first 10 registrants will also receive a $150
advertising credit to run advertising with
Leanna Haag earned a bachelor’s degree
in science and administration with an
emphasis in marketing at the University of
Central Florida. Her professional experience
includes corporate marketing positions
with Jeppesen and Allstate Insurance,
where she developed and executed
regional and national tactical marketing
plans. She founded and launched See Level
Marketing in 2009 to support Treasure
Coast businesses in developing and
managing their online presence and digital
media strategies. Since 2010, she has been
teaching internet marketing workshops
to local businesses through the Corporate
and Community Training Center at IRSC
in conjunction with her role at See Level
Marketing. Go to www.seelevelmarketing.
com for more information.
Facebook Ads.
Space is limited. To reserve a seat, email
the Florida SBDC at FSBDC@irsc.edu or call
Katie Muldoon at 772.336.6285. v
This article is provided by the Florida SBDC at
IRSC, the Small Business Development Center
within Indian River State College’s School
of Business. The center’s team of business
experts works one-on-one with hundreds of
entrepreneurs and business owners each year
by providing confidential, no-cost consulting.
The center’s mission is to help Treasure Coast
businesses grow and succeed.
BY NANCY DAHLBERG
/TCBusiness.com
/www.seelevelmarketing
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