The questionnaire was answered by individuals in decision-making positions in the SMME sector. The questionnaire aims to highlight that half the respondents see marketing providing positive results, while only 14% feel that it is a driver of their sales pipeline.

Firejuice Marketing says that another key factor in the survey is the lack of attention to marketing. The results indicate that 76% do not employ dedicated staff for marketing. It is also reported that positioning and morale are notable contributors — the majority of responders (46%) viewed themselves in a 'growth' phase, while 14% felt stagnant. 

The most popular marketing tools

The survey indicates that graphic design is the area of marketing where the most amount of budget is spent (48%), whereas 25% is spent on copywriting, 18% on photography, 4% on interior design and 30% on none of the above.

It is also reported that digital marketing dominates the type of marketing tactics employed, followed by phone calls and networking — 64% of respondents are cognisant of customer relationships through the usage of an internal CRM software package.


The survey shows that SMMEs feel frustrated by marketing expectations due to cost, great input and low ROI, as well as ineffective delegation by business owners. SMMEs blame 'ill-equipped' marketing strategies for a lack of proper industry-related leads. The survey reports that SMMEs waste resources on marketing simply because a clear strategy that commands a good ROI has not been adopted. 

"Clearly marketing is a powerful tool for growth, but this exercise found that it is not carried out consistently due to lack of knowledge and poor planning — with very few accepting outside help," concludes Bernard Jansen, founder of Firejuice Marketing. 

For more information, visit www.firejuice.co.za. You can also follow Firejuice on Facebook

*Image courtesy of Firejuice Marketing