Australian SMBs ‘leaving things to the last minute’ to plan Christmas marketing
Australian and New Zealand small-to-medium businesses are much slower than their counterparts in other regions to consider marketing plans for the Christmas/New Year period.
This is according to a 2024 study conducted by global digital marketing and automation platform, Constant Contact.
The report found that SMBs in the ANZ region “tend to start marketing for this busy end-of-year rush later” than those in in the US, UK, and Canada.
A shocking 48% of ANZ SMBs surveyed wait until Q4 to start preparing their marketing for Christmas and New Year, with 18% starting in October, 20% in November, and 10% in December.
By way of comparison, just 40% of SMBs in the US, 31% in the U.K. and 41% in Canada start marketing preparations in the final quarter.
“When customers do have money to spend, SMBs need to have those customers thinking of them first,” said Renee Chaplin, VP Asia Pacific, Constant Contact.
“Now granted, ANZ consumers typically start to think about holiday shopping later than other regions, but that’s no reason to wait. In tight economic times, being first to market and working hard to be top-of-mind is not only smart, it’s good business practice.”
CEO and founder of the Small Business Association of Australia, Anne Nalder, said culture plays a major role.
“The ‘she’ll be right’ mentality in this region is a part of who we all are,” she concedes, “but it doesn’t bode well when it comes down to a small business owner assessing how their business is going, and whether they’ll be able to survive some of the hardest times we’ve seen for businesses in this country in 30 years.
“Small businesses do need to be taking opportunities to educate themselves, train their staff and promote their business. Communication is essential to being competitive, and many small businesses don’t prioritise it enough.
“A focus on customer service should also be a priority for small businesses in the lead up to peak spending periods, which can often be an afterthought.
“This stems from the owner level down, and it can really impact a business if they don’t get this right — so it’s important to make the time and invest in training of employees.”
Budget limitations were cited by 38% of A/NZ businesses as “the biggest barrier to marketing ahead of and during the Christmas and New Year period”, slightly above the global average of 37%.
“Inflation is clearly having an impact on small business owners who are looking to reduce expenses by trimming the fat where they can,” said Nalder.
“It’s important for marketing to continue; this isn’t the time to go into a holding pattern. Embracing new technology to fill gaps in knowledge, or to do the work an owner doesn’t have time to do, can really help companies stay top of mind and compete against the corporations with more people and bigger budgets.”
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