Small Businesses Optimistic For 2016

Ann-Marie Vazzano

Eighty-five percent of American small businesses active on Yelp expect their revenues to grow in 2016, according to Yelp’s Small Business Pulse Survey, and they estimate 26% growth in the year ahead. Young businesses predict a 48% growth. There are, however, some issues facing small business owners. The top identified issues include attracting and retaining customers (60%), managing a limited marketing budget (32%) and competition from larger businesses (30%). Neither health care nor minimum wage concerns troubled small businesses as much as growing their customer bases and rising above competition. The survey also found that 85% of small businesses believe digital marketing has helped their business grow its customer base and 91% use digital marketing tools such as social media platforms (75%), consumer review platforms (48%) and search engine advertising (48%). GP