New SMB founders prefer social media marketing, results of a survey by digital marketing platform Constant Contact reveal. Constant Contact surveyed 1,600 small business owners across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada who have operated for five years or less.
These businesses are more than twice as likely to use social media than other proven tactics like email marketing or SMS, with 73% saying paid and unpaid social media posts are their biggest revenue drivers.
However, the study also revealed a strong interest in diversifying the ways they go to market, rethinking the ways they connect with customers, and adopting advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) to help uncover gaps and turn unforeseen roadblocks into opportunities. While one-third of study participants expressed concerns about the global economy impacting their growth in 2025, 91% agreed that technology is essential to their business growth — and 72% plan to integrate AI into their marketing strategies this year.
“It’s difficult to be a small business right now, but what’s clear from our study is that the spirit, passion, and resilience of the SMB is still quite strong,” said Frank Vella, CEO at Constant Contact. “The newest entrepreneurs are digitally savvy, and they understand that adaptability isn’t just a survival tactic, it’s a growth strategy. By harnessing social media to enhance customer relationships and embracing advanced technologies like AI to maintain stability and work smarter, they’re turning challenges into opportunities and redefining what it means to thrive in any economic landscape. Constant Contact will continue to support small businesses around the world and provide the tools and guidance they need to be successful.”
Many new and early-stage SMB owners feel cautiously optimistic as they enter 2025, with many acknowledging that challenges like customer acquisition, rising costs, unpredictable market conditions and shifting consumer habits could influence their growth this year.
- 45%, of new SMB owners feel very confident their business will grow in 2025
- 55% express hesitation due to external pressures.
- 35% believe economic factors will significantly impact their business success in the year ahead.
- 52% of early-stage entrepreneurs noted customer acquisition as their top marketing challenge, followed by customer retention (28%) and learning to use new marketing technologies (27%).
Despite their challenges, 95% of entrepreneurs said they would choose to jump into small business ownership again if given the opportunity – 71% felt excited, and 57% felt proud to be an SMB owner.
New SMB owners prefer to go to market and engage their customers on social media. However, as economic conditions tighten, more SMBs are expanding their marketing efforts to include underutilized channels like email and SMS to turn social media followers into customers as they scale.
- 63% of new SMBs rely on social media as their primary marketing channel, and 54% plan to continue using it as their top channel in 2025.
- 33% of new entrepreneurs see email marketing as an underutilized tool for converting leads and building long-term customer loyalty.
- Only 15% of new SMBs leverage SMS marketing despite its proven high engagement rates.
New SMBs are increasingly recognizing the role technology plays in driving growth, with 91% of new business owners agreeing that technology has been essential to their success. Many are now turning to AI-driven solutions to automate tasks, analyze customer data, and create more personalized marketing experiences.
- 72% of new SMBs plan to use AI for marketing in 2025
- 28% believe AI can help them overcome their biggest marketing obstacles
The most popular marketing use cases for AI include content creation and brainstorming (37%), customer data analysis (32%), and personalized messages (31%).
Almost four in 10 new SMB owners, 38%, plan to learn new marketing strategies and tools and 28% will use AI/automation to help them overcome expected challenges like customer acquisition, increasing sales, and working more efficiently.