Business owners doing it for themselves

17/09/2008

Cash-strapped entrepreneurs are opting to do their own marketing to keep costs down, a new survey has found.

More than 60% of small business owners are planning to do their own marketing, the research by technology company Brother found, with more than half the planned savings due to come from giving advertisers the chop.

Almost a third of businesses said they were planning to cut their marketing spend in the next year, while a fifth said they are planning to carry out their own promotional activity, and more than one in ten are creating their own customer newsletters, the survey revealed.

Phil Jones, sales and marketing director for Brother, said the practice of ‘do it yourself’ marketing has been growing in recent years.

“The current economic downturn could prove to be a watershed moment in how many businesses choose to run their marketing,” he said.

“Many feel external marketing companies are now an unnecessary extra cost and that they have the capability to create their own campaigns, designing and printing the ads and promotional materials they need.

“Technology has made this easier and cheaper than ever before. Businesses can now buy a printer for under £250 which can print A3 colour posters, meaning running simple marketing campaigns can be done cheaply and instantly from a back room or home office,” he said.