We’ve leveraged the Census Bureau’s Small Business Pulse Survey to monitor SMB’s needs regarding marketing, financial assistance, and interest in developing online sales or a website.
About the survey. The Bureau surveys Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) on a weekly basis. In this study, SMBs are defined as single-location employer businesses with 1-499 employees and receipts of $1,000 or more.
During the survey, respondents were asked “in the next 6 months, do you think this business will need to do any of the following:” Ten different needs are covered; we decided to focus on three specific needs that we felt might be of interest to most of our followers:
Need to increase marketing or sales
Need to obtain financial assistance or additional capital
Need to develop online sales or websites
Tracking the Future Needs of SMBs
During the next six months, businesses are more likely to have a need to increase marketing/sales than to obtain financial assistance/additional capital. One in ten firms expressed a need to develop online sales or a website during the next six months.
SMBs’ future need to obtain financial assistance or additional capital has been trending downwards over the past four survey periods.
Need to Obtain Financial Assistance or Additional Capital in the Next Six Months
Businesses in the Accommodation, Educational Services, and Information sectors were more likely to say they will have a need to obtain financial assistance or additional capital in the next six months. In contrast, Real Estate / Rental & Leasing, and Finance and Insurance SMBs were least likely to seek assistance or capital in the future.
Need to Increase Marketing or Sales During the Next Six Months
The three sectors most likely to say they will need to increase marketing or sales were the Educational Services, Information and Wholesale Trade sectors. SMBs in the Transportation/Warehousing and Construction sectors were least likely to say they had this need.
Need to Develop Online Sales or Websites in the Next Six Months
SMBs in the Wholesale Trade and Education Services sectors were most likely to say they will have a need to develop onlines sales or a website in the next six months.
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