• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, November 25, 2019

Email remains the tried-and-true channel for small businesses with 79% using it, according to A Look Back at 2019’s Small Business Marketing Trends, a study by Mailchimp. 

That doesn’t mean they all succeed at it.

For one thing, 80% aren’t taking full advantage of digital tools. The average SMB uses eight marketing solutions — out of more than 7,040 available.

Moreover, only 39% are using analytics. But 46% would like to employ a data-informed strategy in the future, even if they’re not doing so right now. 

And while 62% want to try new things and at the same time adhere to best practices, but lack the time to figure out how.

At the same time, 31% cite marketing as their single biggest challenge. 

Many businesses make the error of focusing on growing their business but not on growing awareness. “For businesses to be successful, this formula needs to be inverted, which mean it’s time to start thinking about marketing differently,” the paper says.

Mailchimp cites a number of sources and statistics to prove the effectiveness of email, including:

Firms that use automated welcome emails draw an order per recipient nine times higher than the regular bulk email.

Among U.S. consumers, 26% have purchased a product or visited a brand’s store or website in response to a promotional email.

Podcasts are also growing as a channel for SMBs.

In general, marketers seek these five features when selecting a platform:

• SEO
• Digital or social ads
• 24/7 service and support 
• Insights and analytics 
• A customer relationship management tool

It’s no easy thing starting a small business. Mailchimp reports that 79% make it through one year, 50% through five ore more years and 33% through ten-plus years.

Starting a small business? Here are the top states for doing so:

• Texas
• Utah
• Georgia 
• North Dakota 
• Oklahoma 
• Florida
• Arizona
• California 
• Montana
• Colorado