Small Business vs. Enterprise - Business Picking Back Up

Business is picking up and the data science team at Zenreach, the brick-and-mortar marketing experts, have some good news for small businesses. Since the beginning of the year, foot traffic to small businesses has increased by 38%: that’s 18% more than enterprise level company growth that has seen an only  20% increase this year.

Megan Wintersteen, VP of Marketing at Zenreach says, "This is a huge win and very encouraging for small business owners of retailers and restaurants. With the economy still having a long way to go to recover, it's promising to see small businesses resonating with consumers more than larger restaurants and retailers."

I had a chance to learn more in this interview.

1. What is the difference between small business and enterprise business?
   Within our data, we defined SMB as a business with 1-10 locations vs mid-market/enterprise having 11+ locations.
2. What are some factors that contribute to small business success right now?
   While COVID itself had global scale, it was really at the local level where people felt the impact the most and that has propelled a surge in conscious consumerism, which is the philosophy of "doing good" while spending. Trends like #shoplocal and #smallbusinesssaturday have been around for a few years now, but I think it was taken to heart at a different level in 2020. We've seen examples of communities really rallying around small business owners via fundraisers, gift card campaigns, and lots of grassroots efforts to support the local economy. Additionally, small businesses benefit from people being unwilling to travel to larger shopping areas, but also looking for some sense of normalcy in their daily lives. Finally, the ability for small businesses to know their clients on a deeper level is more important than ever in today's climate for personalized marketing and sustained growth.
3. How can people support small business in their area (besides purchasing from them)?
   There is nothing more valuable to a small business than word of mouth and positive reviews. If you have a good experience, share it with your friends, on your local community Facebook group or on the business's review pages (Yelp/Google). Those kind of accolades and endorsements can go a long way in bringing new customers through their doors.
4. Why is it important to have healthy small businesses?
   Small businesses not only give back to the economy on a local level, but they're also the building blocks to larger corporations. Aside from the economic impact, however, small businesses also provide culture & diversity, employment opportunities, and support which creates a kind of emotional benefit to the community, as well.