Small/Mid-sized Businesses Tell Doremus and Forbes Insights: "We expect growth" over five years.

Oct. 12, 2010 - PRLog -- Doremus, the business communications specialist, and the Forbes Insights group set out to learn how small and mid-sized business executives view themselves as well as their companies.

Despite public perception of recessionary struggles, the executives in the study were a confident group, with nearly 94% believing they are the “engine of growth” in the U.S. economy. 55% said they expect to see growth for their companies over the next five years, and 29% believe their businesses will double in size over that time.

The 700 senior executives participating in the recent online poll entitled: “Engine of Growth: Understanding SMB Decision-Makers” were culled from a Forbes panel. They represented small and mid-sized companies with between 5 and 999 employees. Home office and franchises were excluded.  

Other findings of note:

“Small” business does not mean start-up. This may be the perception among the general public, but 85% of the businesses in the study were founded more than 11 years ago with 55% started more than 25!

“Small” doesn’t mean local. While 46% operate from only one location, 57% view themselves as “national” or even “international,” largely due to selling opportunities on the internet. 95% have a website.

Customers are constant. 53% said their customers/clients come from repeat business, referrals or walk-ins. 47% actively seek out new customers/clients.  

Bruce Rogers, Chief Brand Officer, Forbes, said: “The study was instrumental in shedding light on what drives small and medium business decision-makers, an audience that’s always been very important to Forbes. They know what they want, and they are assertive and optimistic about getting it -- whether from vendors, partners or colleagues. As a group
they highly value learning new things and rely equally on not only their own experience, but the advice of outside experts as well.”

Hope Picker, Doremus Director of Research added, “The participants in our study described themselves as ‘risk takers’ and were optimistic about their future growth. They view themselves as the backbone, the drivers behind the economy, and expect to be around for the long haul. The study really gives us new perspective on who SMB decision-makers are, and how they arrive at purchase decisions.”

To learn more about the Doremus/Forbes.com “Engine of Growth” study, contact Hope Picker at hpicker@doremus.com.

Doremus (http://www.doremus.com) is a specialist in a world of generalists. With offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong, it specializes in business communications, helping companies align their communications with their business objectives. It does this by leveraging a unique understanding of the complexity
of their industries and audiences, and translating that into compelling business-building solutions. Doremus is part of the Omnicom Group Inc. , a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company.

Doremus is a part of the Omnicom Group Inc.  (www.omnicomgroup.com). Omnicom is a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom’s branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, interactive, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.

Forbes Insights is the custom research practice of Forbes Media, publisher of Forbes magazine and Forbes.com, whose combined media properties reach nearly 50 million business decision-makers worldwide on a monthly basis. Taking advantage of a proprietary database of senior-level executives in the Forbes community, Forbes Insights’ research covers a wide range of vital business issues, including talent management, corporate social responsibility, financial benchmarking, risk and regulation, and doing business in emerging markets. (www.forbes.com/forbesinsights).

# # #

Doremus (http://www.doremus.com) is a specialist in a world of generalists. With offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong, it specializes in business communications, helping companies align their communications with their business objectives. It does this by leveraging a unique understanding of the complexity
of their industries and audiences, and translating that into compelling business-building solutions. Doremus is part of the Omnicom Group Inc. , a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company.