With the Super Bowl a Week Away, Sage North America Survey Finds National Advertising Isn't a Big Deal to Small Businesses

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 29, 2014) - As the saying goes, all politics are local. When it comes to small businesses, most customers are local as well, according to 74 percent of respondents who participated in the recent Sage North America Small Business Advertising Survey.

While much of the world is focused on the new ads that will debut during the big game, Sage decided to examine where most small business customers come from -- local versus national -- and depending on where the customer base is, what type of advertising is most beneficial. The survey findings underscore the importance of local advertising for small businesses. More than 60 percent of U.S. small business owners said that a national ad during the Super Bowl would have no effect on their business, while only 31 percent stated that it would help their business.

For any business to grow, it needs customers, so it's not surprising that 82 percent of small business owners stated that attracting new customers is important to their company. However, 22 percent aren't doing any advertising or marketing for their product or service. Those businesses that are using advertising or marketing find that the most effective methods are the ones that focus on their community: public relations (75%), signs or billboards (71%), advertising in local publications (66%) and local sponsorships (62%). What's more, a small business' marketing efforts are most likely being executed by the owner him or herself, as 74 percent reported not having a dedicated person for marketing activities.

"Each year, there's a lot of buzz around the Super Bowl and advertising's impact on businesses, and Sage North America wanted to really understand the advertising needs of SMBs and where they needed to focus their hard-earned advertising dollars to bring in new customers and grow," said Gabrielle Boko, executive vice president, marketing, Sage North America. "This survey confirms what we have consistently heard from our 3 million-plus small and medium-sized business customers: Local is where businesses get the biggest bang for their buck, not national."

Sage Local Advertising Sweepstakes

With a huge majority of small businesses stating that attracting new customers is important to their company for growth, Sage North America is stepping in to help. Launching today is the Sage Local Advertising Sweepstakes in which one lucky business in the U.S. and one lucky business in Canada have the chance to win a local advertising package worth $15,000. As part of the prize, the winners will receive $10,000 in local digital advertising media and a strategy session with a top advertising firm that will help create the strategy and the creative assets for the advertising campaign, valued at $5,000. Those interested in entering the sweepstakes should visit: SageLocalAdvertising.com. The winning businesses will be picked at random.

The Sage Local Advertising Sweepstakes will run from January 28 through February 7, 2014, with the winners announced through the Sage Facebook page, facebook.com/Sage, on February 10.

Methodology
The Sage North America Small Business Advertising Survey was conducted in January 2014 among 334 small businesses in the U.S. and 297 small businesses in Canada. The margin of error is +/- 5 percent with a confidence level of 95 percent.

The full findings of the Sage North America Small Business Advertising Survey can be found here.

About Sage
We provide small and medium-sized organizations with a range of easy-to-use, secure, and efficient business management software and services -- from accounting and payroll to enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, and payments. Our customers receive continuous advice and support through our global network of local experts to help them solve their business problems, giving them the confidence to achieve their business ambitions. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and entered the FTSE 100 in 1999. Sage has over 6 million customers and more than 12,700 employees in 24 countries covering the UK & Ireland, mainland Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, Asia, and Brazil. For further information please visit: Sage.com

For more information about Sage in North America, please visit the company website at NA.Sage.com. Follow Sage North America on Facebook, Facebook.com/Sage, and Twitter, Twitter.com/SageNAmerica.

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