COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An overwhelming majority of small business owners plan to spend money on their business in 2011, according to a new survey by Manta, the world’s largest online community for promoting and connecting small business. Seventy-seven percent (77%) plan to spend in 2011 even though 85% reported they implemented across-the-board cuts in 2010. Nearly half (47%) have prioritized marketing and sales as their top spend, with 24% noting business development as top priority and 23% opting for marketing and advertising. Another 23% of the respondents said they couldn’t prioritize expenditures for 2011, given the current state of their business.
According to Manta’s Pulse of Small Business Survey of 766 small business owners, the majority of whom (655) have less than 10 employees, more than half of those surveyed are likely to be considering social media in their marketing and advertising plans for 2011. Forty-two percent (42%) of the respondents said they find social media useful in connecting with their customers, and 14% plan to implement it in the near future. Thirty percent (30%) say they don’t find it useful, and 8% say not only is it not useful, they have no plans to use social media in the near future. Six percent (6%) said they don’t use social media and don’t think it will ever be useful to connect to their customers.
The survey also queried the small business owners about their 2010 expectations and the outcome of those expectations. Fifty-one percent said they had expected business to improve in 2010, with about a third (34%) saying their expectations were right. Among the 31% of small business owners who thought business in 2010 would be about the same as the previous year, 23% said their prediction was right. And for the 18% who predicted their business would decline, 15% said their fears were correct.
Looking ahead to 2011, 67% of those surveyed believe the recession is not over, despite what economic experts say. Manta’s survey reveals a hopeful 19% predict the recession will end in 2011.
Manta’s Pulse of Small Business Survey reports healthcare reform is still on the minds of the small business owner. Sixty-two percent (62%) said they are still concerned about healthcare, and 21% agreed that “there has been so much written about its impact on small business that I don’t know what to think.”
Thirty six percent (36%) of the small business owners surveyed said they cut their own salary last year. Despite putting less into their wallets, more than half of the respondents (55%) said they were giving year-end bonuses to their employees. Thirty two percent (32%) of the respondents said they were giving out about the same bonus as 2009, while 17% said they would be giving their employees a smaller bonus. Only 6% of the owners gave more in 2010, and 45% said they never give year-end bonuses.
Manta’s Pulse of Small Business Survey http://www.manta.com/small-business/year-end_survey_0111 was conducted over a period of two weeks in December 2010. Manta will be conducting its Pulse of Small Business Survey on a quarterly basis in 2011.
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Manta is the world’s largest online community for promoting and connecting small business. With 64 million company profiles, business owners and professionals use Manta to promote and differentiate their offerings and “be found” online by customers and prospects. Manta is ranked the third largest business news/research website by comScore and has an audience of 26 million from the U.S. and around the globe. Manta is ranked in Business Insider’s SAI Digital 100: The World’s Most Valuable Startups. Launched in 2005, Manta is privately held and based in Columbus, Ohio. Find out if your company is listed on Manta at http://www.manta.com/claim.