4 Things We Learnt From Interviewing 250 Business Owners

During our years in business, we have interviewed and documented responses from a wide range of business owners about their marketing strategies, lead generation process, CRM knowledge, and more. In this article, we will share our results and findings gathered from interviewing these 250 business owners.

You Need To Know Your Numbers

There are many businesses that make the mistake of not knowing the value of their average customer. As we discovered in our interview, 43% of business owners didn’t know how much an average customer is worth to their business, with the rest making estimates. 

Knowing the value of an average customer allows business owners to make informed decisions about marketing, sales, and customer service. For example, it can help them determine the appropriate amount to spend on marketing to acquire new customers and what level of customer service to provide to retain existing ones.

Our next question was around website traffic, and the average amount of visitors they get each month. We found that most business had Google Analytics installed (77%), however 42% admitting that they did not look at the statistics or track these key results. 

Without this information, business owners are trying to grow their businesses with one hand tied behind their backs. By utilising website analytics tools like Google Analytics and HubSpot, businesses can track their website growth next to their SMART goals to see whether changes they are making to their website, or marketing efforts they are implementing, are making a difference. By tracking website visitors, businesses can gain insights into customer behaviour, identify areas for improvement, and optimise marketing efforts for better resource allocation and time management for members of the team.

And it's not just marketing - in sales, many business owners didn't track key numbers. We found, for example, that 43% had no idea what their average order value/average customer value was.

Generating Leads Is The Number One Challenge

One of the biggest challenges for business owners is generating more, better quality leads. As a result of our interview, the majority of business owners explained to us that this was their biggest marketing challenge, with 17% saying it was hard to make a marketing plan and 15% saying that they had no time to do this themselves. 

A steady stream of leads is essential to growing a business, as without new leads a business will begin to stagnate and could even decline over time. But how to business owners find the time to create such a plan? 

It’s key for business owners to be reminded on how creating a marketing plan and adopting a marketing strategy for lead generation is an investment that will have an overarching long-term success for your business. Although creating  a marketing strategy that focuses on generating more leads can seem difficult for already busy business owners, by dedicating time and making space in your schedule to create a plan, leveraging resources, and implementing efficient strategies, you can effectively manage your time and create a solid marketing plan that drives results.

You Need An Effective CRM System 

There are many business owners who neglect to implement a customer relationship management (CRM) system. As we interviewed business owners, over 50% admitted that they had no CRM system in place for their business. 

A CRM system can help businesses track customer interactions, manage leads, and automate sales processes. Without a CRM, businesses may struggle to keep track of customer data, miss out on potential sales opportunities, and struggle to provide excellent customer service, and although it can initially feel overwhelming for business owners at first, with the right approach, you can smoothly integrate the platform into your business operations and start to understand its benefits, set clear objectives from reports, and start integrating it into your workflows, customising it to fit your business.

Business Owners Focus On Sales More Than Marketing

Businesses often make the mistake of focusing on sales over marketing. While sales are essential, marketing is the driving force behind gaining new customers and growing your business. From the interviews we conducted, the majority of business owners said that they had a marketing meeting annually or less, while 22% said they had sales meetings monthly, and 16% every week, what is important for business owners to note is that a balanced approach to sales and marketing is actually more critical for long-term business success.

Find Out More

Through this research, we discovered that many business owners face several challenges when it comes to lead generation, customer acquisition, and sales processes being highly more invested in compared to their marketing. By avoiding these common mistakes and investing in effective marketing and sales strategies, businesses can attract more, better quality leads, increase customer retention, and ultimately generate more revenue, whether through investing in a CRM system or tracking website analytics, business owners can take steps to overcome these challenges and succeed in a competitive market.

For more information on our digital marketing services here at JDR Group, please contact us today or download our free guide on How To Attract Customers to overcome your marketing hurdles, and start growing your business today.

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