Report: SMBs watching economy closely

With the economy still sluggish and some worries because of the 2012 Presidential Election, small businesses aren't running into the future. They're walking - and watching the national playing field closely. According to a new survey out from The Local Corporation about 40% of small businesses have considered cutting back on marketing spends.

However, those cutbacks may be toward traditional media. The survey found that 63% are invested in digital marketing and about one-third plan to increase their digital spending heading in to 2013. Along with the economy, businesses worry about creating strong customer relationship. About one-quarter say customer relationship management is one of their biggest challenges moving forward.

Those surveyed are optimistic about the future with more than half saying they will make a long term investment in their business while nearly half (46%) say business development is topping their list. More than half (61%) say they would take a pay cut to ensure their business will survive.

Researchers polled more than 400 small businesses about their marketing decisions between October 12 and 18; all surveyed SMBs had 25 or fewer employees, spent under $75,000 on advertising per year and had annual revenues under $1.5 billion.

Tags: advertising trends, small business trends, smb trends, The Local Corporation