We asked SMBs: How would you spend $2000 on marketing?

It's an interesting conversation starter — "If you had to increase sales... how would you spend $2000 on marketing?"

When it comes to small business decision-making, every dollar counts. From office supplies to software choices and marketing decisions, investments must generate profitable returns or prove to be otherwise attributable to customer acquisition or success.

Here's how small business professionals across the nation responded to our question:

Linda Nguyen, COO of Soupply, a company that packages and sells authentic Vietnamese pho bowls, says, "As a CPG food product that launched 4 months ago, we sell primarily through our website. Facebook ads have been the best revenue driver for us."

Facebook ads allow small business advertisers to reach local, regional, or national audiences with targeted products and services. One of the key benefits of Facebook ads is that they are still relatively cost-effective with massive reach potential. The power of social media to amplify and spread messages, such as with great food deals, makes Facebook a smart choice for most small business advertisers.

Max DesMarais, owner of Hiking And Fishing LLC, a go-to resource and blog for those who love the outdoors, prefers Google's paid search method over social media. "If I had $2000 marketing spend to generate sales in the short term, it would go to paid search advertising. This would be the case over other advertising options because paid search is intent-based marketing."

Intent-based marketing, such as with Google ads, allows small business owners to only run ads to users who are actively searching for related products and services online. This increases the chances of converting traffic into new leads and sales.

Ryan Reiffert, a San Antonio-based attorney for startups and small businesses, agrees with DesMarais. "I would put the marketing budget into Google ads."

"I don't have much of a rationale beyond that I invest in whatever generates the highest return on investment and gets me the most clients."

Although paid search can be costly, the ability to target users who are further down the sales funnel can yield dividends once campaigns are optimized. From Google text ads, to highly-affordable display ads (known more commonly as banner ads), Google's vast reach and market dominance make it very attractive to advertisers.

While Google enjoys global popularity among advertisers, small business owners use other effective channels, too.

"To generate the most sales, I leverage Every Door Direct Mail and Facebook ads," says Shon Barnwell, a 25-year USAF veteran and founder of Shon Barnwell Events LLC, an event planning service for government, commercial, and private clients.

"With EDDM postcards I can target the right people in my area based on their location, age, and income," says Barnwell. "I typically mail postcard offers to more than two-thousand homes and businesses. I also run Facebook ads to my target audience which is about 60% women and 40% men between the ages of 35-65." 

Barnwell makes a great point — advertising is often about "reach" and delivering impressions across different media channels.

Direct mail has a built-in reach advantage over other channels because the USPS delivers mail to virtually every household in the U.S.

On the digital side, Facebook is, by far, the largest social network. Nearly 70% of all U.S. adults have a Facebook account.

For businesses who need total market saturation (the ability to reach every possible consumer in an area), direct mail and Facebook ads are the two most important channels.

Taradel's 2022 Small Business Marketing Survey Report, which surveyed hundreds of business owners across the nation, found Facebook ads and direct mail marketing generated the highest ROI for SMBs, with the exclusion of referrals. 

Aside from marketing fundamentals such as the concepts of reach and frequency, there are new challenges facing small business advertisers, too.

Ron Wysocarski, CEO of Wyse Home Team Realty, a real estate agency serving Florida's Volusia, Flagler and Brevard Counties, recently shifted his marketing strategy after noticing a trend during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I believe the pandemic has made people increasingly dependent on social media and digital platforms," says Wysocarski. "This has created a huge opportunity for digital marketing initiatives."

The home-selling pro added, "I would spend half of the budget on Facebook, Instagram, and video ads, which I believe are the easiest ways to reach the younger generation. As for the other half, I would spend it on offline marketing channels such as direct mail." 

So what's the final verdict? 

The best advice is to get to know and understand your customers — who they are, what they need, and how to reach them. This basic information is the backbone of every successful marketing campaign.

As modern consumers split their time at home, online, and on-the-go (often blurring the lines between work and life), you should use a multichannel marketing strategy to reach them.

Multichannel campaigns increase the reach and lifespan of every marketing dollar you invest, resulting in more impressions and better opportunities to attract sales leads and new customers.