Untapped opportunities
The majority of home and professional SMEs surveyed were more likely to use outside vendors to create their digital presence, although there was also a sizeable DIY cohort.
Many SMEs chose outside vendors due to a lack of time, skills, creativity, and resources needed to consistently optimise their business website and marketing channels. Younger business operators were more willing to attempt a DIY solution, with 39% between ages 18-34 reported using a DIY solution to build their website, compared to just 16% in the 55-64 bracket.
SMEs could benefit from creative services offering at the DIFM end of the spectrum and an easy-to-use content library for the DIY cohort.
Three key findings about these sectors
Learn more about these SMEs
The home and professional services use a variety of sources to advertise and generate leads for their business. 88% use word of mouth and 75% have a business website. The website is the most important digital touchpoint when it comes to lead generation.
Yet, 40% of the home and professional services SMEs surveyed update their business website two times a year or less. 73% cited lack of time as the main reason content was not updated more, while 49% listed limited skills.
This is important as acquiring (38%) and retaining (35%) customers are the top two challenges the home and professional services sectors face, closely followed by finding (34%) and retaining (28%) qualified staff, indicating a need for consistent lead generation and HR tools on the website.
SMEs top business challenges
SMEs use of lead generation tools
SMEs and marketing updates
The age of the business plays a role
Noticeable differences could be seen between younger and older decision-makers, and also between newer and older businesses.
There is an association between how long a business has been operating and how often the business website is updated. None of the new businesses (less than a year old) surveyed reported never making any website updates, while 10% of older businesses (5-10 years) responded that they never made changes to the website.
It is important for businesses at every stage to keep their website's content and design fresh, as customer journey standards and best practices evolve.
Report: A closer look at the home and professional services sectors
Download our brand new report to find informative statistics and insights about the home and professional services industries.
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Celebrating and supporting small businesses
Check out our blog posts to learn more about how small businesses can be supported with the right tools and website inspiration, as well as sector specific information.
Key findings of the European home and professional services survey
Localogy and Mono Solutions commissioned a survey of more than 700 small businesses in two key categories: home and professional services; and across three European markets: Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom. The objective was to learn about the top challenges that these small business verticals face, how these two sectors use digital marketing to acquire and retain customers, and the additional forms of assistance these verticals need.