LocaliQ, a digital marketing platform that specializes in lead generation and multichannel marketing campaign management, and is a subsidiary of Gannett Publishing, surveyed more than 730 small business owners and marketers worldwide to get boots-on-the-ground perspectives on leadgen and customer acquisition marketing tactics SMB owners are using now and uncensored feedback on what’s producing the best results. The survey is a rich source of benchmarking and actionable insights that have the potential to inform your approach to leadgen and customer acquisition strategies and tactics this year.

In its first Small Business Marketing Trends Report, LocaliQ shares the results of a deep data dive that’s intended to help Freelance consultants and SMB owners successfully navigate the business landscape they can expect to encounter in 2025 by learning how their peers energize sales revenue by identifying leadgen tactics that promote customer acquisition.

The relevance of LocaliQ data is for many of you validated by the survey demographics—15% of respondents are soloprenuers; 31% have 2-10 full-time employees; 24% have a marketing budget that’s less than $500/ year (5% have no marketing budget); and 74% are based in Canada and the U.S. (all six inhabited continents plus New Zealand are represented). The survey was published in October 2024. How does the average Freelancer or SMB owner attract prospects?

Survey respondents do what you’d expect and it’s safe to assume that they use more than one leadgen tactic to implement their marketing /sales strategy. Social media marketing (free) is used by 52% of respondents; 47% of respondents use (paid) social media advertising; and 40% of respondents use search advertising, i.e., pay-per-click sponsored ads that appear in search engine inquiries. Other popular leadgen tactics are email marketing, used by 39% of respondents and content marketing, used by 33% of respondents. Online listings and directories (28%), display ads (24%) and traditional media (23%) are 20th century tactics and that gives them a similarity (IMHO); when combined, 75% of survey respondents use one or more of these older leadgen tactics.

As for the social media platforms used, it’s no surprise that Facebook dominates—76% of respondents use the platform for leadgen, promoting products and services and otherwise engaging with current customers and prospects. Instagram is used by 63% of survey respondents and LinkedIn, tailored as it is to B2B customers, is used by 43% of respondents. The data also showed that 29% of respondents use video marketing, a feature that is available on the above three platforms and also YouTube, which is used by 38% of respondents and recently rescued TikTok, which is used by 34% of respondents. Surprisingly X, a platform intended for Instant Messaging and other text communications, is used by 41% of respondents for social media marketing (X also hosts video sharing).

Now let’s talk turkey—when asked about their satisfaction (or disappointment) with the results of leadgen tactics, social media marketing and online listings/business directory users are satisfied with results—66% of social media marketing users and 61% of online listings/business directory users are pleased with their leadgen marketing results—still, each group also has a dissatisfaction rate of 15%. Furthermore, there is a rather large group of “neither satisfied nor dissatisfied” —meaning lukewarm?—users associated with those leadgen marketing tactics and 24% of online listing/ business directory users and 19% of social media marketing users joined the lukewarm group. Maybe it’s too difficult to measure leadgen results directly from social media marketing activity, whose conversation threads remain visible for years and likewise for presence on a business listing site or directory that a prospect might see many months after publication?

More clarity is derived from search advertising and it topped the list as the leadgen tactic most respondents are happy with, as evidenced by its 76% satisfaction rate (with 12% dissatisfied and 12% neither satisfied nor dissatisfied). A close second in popularity is video marketing, a leadgen tactic that has a growing user rate on every platform; in this survey, 74% of users are pleased with their video marketing outcomes and just 8% are unhappy (and 17% are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied). Short-form videos, like those on TikTok and Instagram Reels, continue to surge and 58% of respondents have either recently tried or would like to try the format.

Search advertising succeeds because it kicks in precisely when the purchasing motive is strongest and prospects are actively looking to buy a product or service that’s similar to yours. Readily available alternative options are waiting for them, as shown in search ads you’ve seen. Survey respondents also indicate satisfaction with results they’re finding with content marketing (75%) and advertising on social media platforms (73%).

The best source of leadgen is (drum roll) customer referrals! Almost 65% of survey respondents reported that customer referrals are the best leadgen sources. The influence of customer referrals is greatest (75%) for SMBs that have 10 or fewer full-time employees and have less influence in larger organizations—just 46% of businesses with 50 or more employees report that customer referrals are the best source of new customer leads.

Major challenges anticipated in 2025

Freelance consultants and SMB owners know that in order to survive and thrive, a clear-eyed view of their economic landscape is necessary. Economic uncertainty, leadgen tactics that stimulate new customer acquisition and optimizing an (often modest) marketing budget are by necessity at top-of-mind. The ability to predict which marketing tactics can be relied on to produce the strongest return on investment is viewed as somewhat or very challenging for nearly half of survey respondents—44% are somewhat or very concerned about the capability of their chosen leadgen tactics to drive results. Adapting to new technology is a concern for 40% of respondents, who indicate they are somewhat or very concerned about keeping up. Furthermore, 45% of respondents are somewhat or very concerned about their leadgen tactics bringing in enough new customers and 48% are somewhat or very worried about economic conditions and uncertainty.

So, what are the recommendations for driving Freelancer and SMB success in 2025? There are no definitive answers and the suggestions offered below are not new and not rocket science. Your goal is to make money, but you could meet with headwinds for any number of reasons. Outcomes produced by your business strategies and tactics cannot be predicted but appropriate design, execution and performance monitoring on your part can be expected to yield at least modest success. Marketing and sales have a direct effect on customer acquisition and generating revenue, making these two closely related functions the money-making engine of a business venture and deserving of your intense focus. Just do it.

It’s helpful to monitor the performance metrics of marketing tactics and for that process, Google Analytics generates relevant and insightful data that enables you to evaluate your campaigns—at no charge. Sign up now! Along with leadgen/customer acquisition, make a point to promote customer referrals by asking your current customers if any of their colleagues or customers have the potential to become one of your customers. Also, create customer experience protocols that at every touchpoint anticipate and respond to customer needs end-to-end, from new or returning customer onboarding to after-sale training or other services. Finally, invite customer feedback by directly speaking with those who do business with you when possible. It’s good business to send out an email survey (maybe once a year), or chat with customers by way of social media; it’s important to learn what customers would like to see you do (or not do), so that you can optimize the experience of doing business with your company.

• Be prepared to manage both the opportunities and challenges you encounter by being aware, being agile, being resourceful and being resilient.
• Develop comprehensive marketing/sales strategies and implement with tactics you can expect to be effective. Regularly consult your website (and social media) performance metrics and make adjustments where necessary, to maximize performance.
• Identify one or two local business associations and aim to attend one program per quarter as a way to obtain professional development and/or enhance your business acumen skills as you meet colleagues and engage in face2face networking that builds mutually beneficial relationships.
• As soon as your budget allows hire an (outsourced) business accountant or bookkeeper to not only maintain the integrity and timeliness of your business financials and tax filings, but also to discuss and guide the potential business growth and expansion of your venture.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © kali9/ iStock