With 34% of SMEs cutting marketing budgets in 2024, sales, media and marketing business owners admit that sales have been their biggest struggle in 2024 when it comes to running a business.
A staggering 37% of sales, media and marketing SMEs have had to make redundancies to cut costs in 2024 due to the current market conditions.
A recent SME insights report by Dojo, a card payment provider that specialises in independent and enterprise payments, sheds light on the challenges faced by UK sales, media and marketing SMEs.
Dojo surveyed SME business owners on:
- Biggest cost-cutting measures
- If they have an emergency fund
- If they anticipated profit/revenue for 2024
- Biggest challenges when it comes to running a business
The Top Cost-Cutting Measures Businesses Have Made in 2024
Optimising Bills and Increasing Rates are the Biggest Cost Cutting Measures in 2024
Due to the current market, 40% of sales, media and marketing businesses have increased their rates and prices. Increasing prices has helped businesses, with 80% of this industry responding that they were anticipating growth in profit in 2024.
However, a further 20% of businesses aren’t anticipating growth in terms of profitability and revenue.
The biggest cost-cutting measure taken by sales, media and marketing SMEs in 2024 has been optimising bills such as electricity and energy.
37% of Sales, Media and Marketing Businesses Have Made Redundancies in 2024
In 2024, 37% of sales, media and marketing businesses have had to make redundancies, above the average of 30% reported across all industries analysed. Alongside this, over one in three SMEs say they’d have to shut down offices to save money in 2024.
The Biggest Challenge Marketing Businesses Face is Sales
Due to the current economic climate, money is getting tighter across the board which is resulting in clients being reluctant to spend more money. SMEs in this industry are saying that selling and bringing new clients in is the biggest challenge they’re facing in 2024.
Carrie Rose, CEO of Rise at Seven comments:
“Having spoken to a number of different agencies, times are getting tougher and money is tight. We’re seeing clients wanting a guaranteed ROI for what they’re going to spend so there’s even more of an onus on companies especially startups to get it right the first time.
It’s no surprise to me that sales is the toughest challenge this industry faces. It is a super competitive industry and price plays a huge factor when it comes to selling to get new clients in.
Sadly, we’re also seeing agencies undercut each other to get business which will result in a race to the bottom for the marketing industry.
The first thing we prioritised when starting this agency was focusing on sales first. By focusing on this first, everything else falls into place.
One of the main factors that’s attributed to our increasing sales is internal marketing. Being able to market your own business is vital when it comes to bringing in, maintaining and increasing inbound leads.
Your target audience needs to be aware of and in need of your services if they’re to buy from you – ensuring that your marketing is talking to your target audience and is giving them a reason to consider you as a potential brand to purchase from is crucial.
By providing valuable insights, resources, and support, marketing helps our sales team close deals more effectively and efficiently.”
Staff Retention and Hiring are in the Top 5 Biggest Challenges in 2024
One of the biggest challenges this industry faces is hiring new staff (27%) and retaining the staff they have (24%). This could be down to other agencies paying above industry standard rates or employees looking for better work balance.
54% of Marketing Businesses are Still Owed Late Payments from Clients
54% of sales, media and marketing businesses are still owed late payments with the average wait time to receive them being over one month.
Nearly 10% of businesses are waiting over two months up to 3 months for their late payments.
You can find the full study here.
Methodology
Dojo surveyed 1,001 SME owners in the UK (including microbusiness owners) aged 18+ to find out how businesses manage their finances in 2024. This included asking questions about cash runway, the biggest business challenges, and where businesses borrowed money. All percentages and figures quoted are from the survey unless otherwise stated.
About Dojo
Dojo is a UK-based card payment provider. They specialise in helping independent and enterprise businesses take secure, reliable and fast card payments with cutting-edge contactless card machines with next-working day transfers.
