how smbs in france are embracing social media [2015 research]

How SMBs in France are embracing social media

Who did we survey? 168 Decision-Makers in Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) in France How are SMBs defined? Businesses with:

• Less than 500 employees • Less than €5M annual

revenue

This report explores how Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) in Europe make use of social media.

SMBs in France are growing …and are using Social Media

63%

59%

have an increased number of customers

have increased overall revenue

have increased overall profitability 50%

4

SMBs in France are experiencing widespread year-on-year growth

HYPER-GROWTH Significant increase in overall

revenue compared to last year

5

15% of SMBs report that they are currently in a hyper-growth phase

14%

46%

38%

GROWTH Increase in overall revenue

compared to last year

NON-GROWTH No change or decrease in overall revenue compared to last year

6

Almost all SMBs surveyed use Social Media for their business…

91% of SMBs are Current

Users of Social Media

6% are Future Users

7

90%

60% 58%

43% 39% 36%

15%

LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube Google+ Viadeo Instagram

and LinkedIn is the #1 Social Media site used by the companies of the individual SMB professionals surveyed

SMBs see Social Media as a key way to meet their business challenges

9

SMBs reported social media and lead generation as key drivers for revenue and customer growth

32%

12%

20%

6%

25% 24%

Contributed to growth incustomer numbers

Contributed to growth inoverall revenue

Social media and social ads

Other online ads

Lead Generation

10

SMB’s have increased their spend in both social media and lead generation and plan a further increase in the next year

50%

38%

50%

27%

Increased spend this year Plan to increase spend nextyear

Social Media

Lead generation

3 in 4 of all SMBs that increased social media spend this year, planned to increase spend again next year

11

Top challenges currently faced by SMBs relate to generating business, boosting profit margins and hiring

24%

25%

28%

35%

66%

Keeping up with technology

Increasing profit margins

Finding and hiring good employees

Marketing and advertising effectively

Attracting new / retaining current customers

12

Social media is helping SMBs overcome some of their key challenges

“Social media is important for retaining/getting new

customers”

“Social media is important for marketing my company”

81%

68%

Social media helps my

company source and hire new employees

54%

SMBs are looking for financial information on LinkedIn

14

have used LinkedIn for financial purposes

40% 45% are already using Social Media for at least one financial purpose

15

SMBs can be reached at each stage of their decision making journey on LinkedIn

3%

3%

4%

7%

8%

13%

14%

15%

19%

23%

Purchased an insurance product

Purchased an investment product

Opened a new financial account

Asked a financial professional for additional info about afinancial product / policy / account type

Discussed a financial product / policy or account typewith a family member, friend or colleague

Conducted additional research on a financial product

Contacted a financial representative

Learned about a financial company was not aware of

Learned of a financial product was not aware of

Shared info about financial trends/products/companies

Awareness

Consideration

Purchase

SMBs will be most engaged by do-it-yourself content, as well as innovation news and peer or expert reviews

16

Top 6 Impactful Types of Financial Services Content

1

Best practices, How-To-guides, checklists

2

New innovation and technology developments

6

Market and economic commentary

5

Peer ratings, reviews or testimonials

4

Expert ratings, reviews or testimonials

3

Customer stories and case studies

17

Customer service and reputation feature highly as factors to consider when choosing a financial services company

Top 3 Consideration Factors

3. Brand & Reputation 42%

2. Customer Service 54%

1. Charges and Rates 56%

Transparency and clarity as well as direct experience with a provider, are key to increasing the confidence of SMBs

5%

67%

28% Confidence in the Financial Service

industry in the past 12 months

Increased confidenceStayed the sameDecreased confidence

6%

7%

23%

34%

45%

51%

62%

Visibility of employees

Press coverage

Conversations with friends / family / colleagues

Responding quickly to enquiries

Personal experience dealing with a provider

Clear explanations of products and services

Transparency of price and terms / conditions

Factors that would increase confidence in the Financial Service industry

Key findings Implications for marketers

Almost all SMBs in France use social media

An active presence on LinkedIn is crucial for successful marketing and customer acquisition

SMBs can be reached on LinkedIn at each stage of their financial decision making journey

Tap into vast pools of potential customers by providing them an avenue to share information about your brand and products

Clear content related to financial products and services and better customer service are things SMBs look for in financial service brands

Use LinkedIn to disseminate information about financial products and services, customer service and to build confidence

1

2

3

Key findings Implications for marketers

Almost all SMBs in France use social media

An active presence on LinkedIn is crucial for successful marketing and customer acquisition

Tap into vast pools of potential customers by providing them an avenue to share information about your brand and products

Use LinkedIn to disseminate information about financial products and services, customer service, and to build confidence

Contact us at https://lnkd.in/contact_us.