Most people feel personally and emotionally connected to small businesses in their communities, but underestimate how small businesses are on a broader scale.
That agrees with a new report published Wednesday by the Digital Marketing Platform and the Constant Contact Automation Platform. The report gathered responses from 8,000 people in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Only 19% of US respondents. Meanwhile, more than two out of five Americans said they would feel “devastated” if their small favorite company closed.
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Constant Contact CEO Frank Vella said the numbers showed that most consumers have “a blind spot” in their awareness of the number of small businesses that exist.
Vella told him Entrepreneur In an email, small businesses create a “personal” relationship with their customers. Customers not only buy a product or service, they are building a relationship.
According to the report, the most popular types of small businesses worldwide were restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, retail stores, local property franchises and personal care or well -being businesses.
“Many of us feel a personal connection with our favorite local companies, but our research shows a significant consciousness gap regarding the prevalence of these businesses,” said Vella. “Not recognizing small businesses and their critical role in our communities and economies creates a blind spot, which makes it easy to ignore its impact.”
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Worldwide, 40% of consumers said they visit a small business at least once a week, and around 80% agreed that small businesses positively affect their lives.
Customers said they supported small businesses because they enjoyed the quality of products and services, customer personal service and local impact. They also said they chose to buy in small businesses due to the sense of proven community thesis establishments.
Another small businesses published last month of Goldman Sachs found that most small businesses in the United States (69%) are optimistic about the financial health of their businesses, and 78% plan to grow their businesses this year. Of the 1,188 businesses surveyed, almost half (46%) said they expected to create new jobs this year.
