Vancouver, BC, and Portland, OR, Sept. 14, 2022 – Unbounce, the global leader in landing page and conversion intelligence technology, today released its State of AI Marketing for Small Business Report that analyzed the awareness, adoption and impact of AI marketing tools and technology on small businesses across North America.
Time and money are always a challenge for small businesses, but the Great Resignation has made it particularly difficult for small and growing companies to find, hire and retain marketing talent. One of the central themes from the report revealed that many small businesses are turning to AI to help fill these talent gaps. In fact, Unbounce’s study uncovered that 95% of AI adopters say their investment in AI has largely reduced their need to hire additional marketing headcount.
“For small businesses, every dollar and hour saved can make a critical difference, especially with teams that are already stretched thin, said Paul Roetzer, founder and CEO of the Marketing AI Institute. “AI will not replace marketers, but it will be infused into marketing tools and software to make us more efficient, and enhance our creativity and decision-making. AI solutions can be found across every area of marketing, specifically for data-driven and repetitive tasks, and where predictions are being made about outcomes and human behavior.”
The State of AI Marketing for Small Business surveyed 401 small business leaders across the U.S. and Canada. The survey was designed and conducted by Blue Research and was completed during the second quarter of 2022. Questions focused on the familiarity, adoption, and benefits of AI marketing tools and software.
“We expected to hear skepticism and fear coming from small and growing companies on the topic of AI,” said Pete Housley, CMO of Unbounce. “But our study revealed the opposite — the majority of businesses are comfortable giving up some control to AI and believe AI software will help them to add significant value to their teams and businesses over the coming years. AI adopters are already seeing meaningful benefits directly attributed to AI including saving time, increasing leads and sales and filling specific marketing talent gaps.”
Other notable findings from the study include:
Many small businesses are struggling to find the right marketing expertise
- 49% of businesses say the Great Resignation has prevented their teams from recruiting and retaining marketing talent. Surprisingly, Canadian small businesses have been hit harder than those in the US. 60% of Canadian respondents admit the Great Resignation has impacted their ability to recruit and retain staff, versus 42% of American respondents.
- 60% of small businesses say one of their biggest challenges is not having the right marketing expertise on their teams.
Companies are reducing their talent and time gaps with AI tools
- 31% of small businesses have adopted AI tools due to the challenges they face with limited staff, time and budgets that leave marketing teams at a disadvantage.
- 97% of AI adopters say they’re experiencing significant time savings in performing marketing tasks as a result of their adoption of AI tools.
- Despite hiring challenges, 46% of businesses expect the advancements in AI will create a host of new marketing roles in the future.
AI tools are helping small businesses boost revenues
- 82% of AI adopters say AI is helping them accelerate their leads and revenue growth.
- 92% of small businesses say AI marketing tools have helped them decrease costs.
- According to the study, small companies that have invested in AI tools spend less on digital marketing overall compared to those who have not yet adopted AI, suggesting that AI is allowing companies to be more efficient and reduce their marketing spend.
“The insights from our study uncover the enormous challenges small businesses continue to face in their endeavors to grow, and the increasing opportunity AI technology provides to help fill their time and talent gaps”, said Housley. “This report should be an eye-opening piece of research for the marketing industry and will lead to growing companies making more confident purchasing decisions in the future.”
To read the full report, please click here.
About Unbounce
Unbounce is an AI-powered marketing platform that puts data from over 1.8 billion conversions at a marketer’s fingertips. With easy-to-use builders designed for any skill level, AI-powered copywriting and features to help launch campaigns quicker, and an award-winning customer service team, Unbounce provides everything a marketer needs to get great results and grow their business. Founded in Vancouver, BC, Unbounce is a people-first business, one of Canada’s most admired corporate cultures, and the founder of Pay Up for Progress, a pledge initiative urging companies to prioritize pay parity. Connect with Unbounce’s growing community of marketers at Unbounce.com and @Unbounce.