Big & Small Businesses Use Most Of The Same Marketing Technologies … With This One Exception

When it comes to the use of marketing technologies, enterprise-level companies and small businesses have a lot more in common than you might think.

In our Marketing Land 2014 Marketing Technology Survey, more than 90 percent of SMBs and enterprise companies said they use analytics software. More than 70 percent of both groups use email marketing software. More than 50 percent in each group say they use SEO software. The adoption levels are similar when we asked about the use of social media management software, PPC and even marketing automation technologies.

But there was one area where enterprise-level businesses are well ahead of smaller companies: the use of social media infrastructure tools/services (SMI).

In our survey, 51 percent of enterprise-level respondents said their company uses SMI technology, compared to only 35 percent of small businesses. (We define SMI as “tools that integrate social media functionality into a website and/or mobile application to create personalized user experiences and provide site owners with customer insights.” It includes products including, but not limited to, Gigya and Janrain for social login, Disqus and LiveFyre for commenting, and so forth.)

Here’s a look at two charts — one for each size of business — and their reported adoption of various types of marketing software included in our survey:

As you can see, most of the software types had very little difference in “Using Now” responses; most were no more different than 5-6 percent adoption.

Looking ahead, the most popular technologies that survey respondents said they plan to adopt in 2014 are marketing automation (26 percent), social media infrastructure (24 percent) and location-based marketing software (23 percent).

Our survey was open between November 20 and December 20, 2013 and more than 600 Marketing Land readers responded. We previously reported on responses to the survey question about brand recognition: Google, Moz & Hubspot Are The Most Recognized Marketing Tech Brands In Marketing Land Survey.

Full Survey Results Available

Marketing Land editors prepared summaries and comparison based on respondents from small/medium businesses (SMBs) of $25 million to $500 million in annual revenue, and those from enterprise level companies of more than $500 million in annual revenue. These results — plus a complete look at technology adoption by technology type — are available as a free download here.

About The Author

Matt McGee

Matt McGee is the Editor-In-Chief of MarTech Today. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. After leaving traditional media in the mid-1990s, he began developing and marketing websites and continued to provide consulting services for more than 15 years. His SEO and social media clients ranged from mom-and-pop small businesses to one of the Top 5 online retailers. Matt is a longtime speaker at marketing events around the U.S., including keynote and panelist roles. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee. You can read Matt's disclosures on his personal blog. You can reach Matt via email using our Contact page.