A recent survey by Webs revealed some very interesting facts about what is going on with today’s small businesses and their makreting efforts. As a marketing professional, professor of advertising and a copywriter, I was struck by these statistics:

63% of small business owners use digital products as part, or all, of their marketing strategy, most combining digital and print.

61% use, or plan to use, a website, online store, or mobile website.

59% of those with a website created it with DIY tools.

80% of website owners are their own webmasters.

88% of those with social profiles list Facebook as a top social media channel for marketing their businesses, followed by LinkedIn (39%), Twitter (31%), Google+ (22%), Pinterest (20%), and YouTube (17%).

65% of those with Facebook business profiles use or are considering using Facebook advertising.

63% agree the top motivator for getting a website is to generate new customer leads. Showcasing products and services is second (44%) and providing basic company information third (42%).

The top three reasons Facebook users reported for creating a business page were customer acquisition (62%), building a network of followers (50%), and increasing brand awareness (45%).

The statistics that stood out for me was the 59% of businesses created their own websites and 80% maintain their websites themselves.

If you’re a consultant whose clients are small businesses you have to be able to justify why paying you to do what they can do themselves will generate better results for these very budget-conscious businesses.

The DIY tools available today on the popular social media platforms are funcational and relatively easy to use. They must be if someone like myself can put together their own blog and website.

As a consultant in this DIY world we have to ask ourselves what can we do to improve a business’s performance and justify the check they might write for us.

Track record counts. How did your efforts bring new customers to a business? What did you do to increase followers and increase brand awareness that ultimately led to a transaction?

You can talk about winning awards. You can boast about being a “breakthrough thinker” and being someone who has their fingers on the pulse of the market?

But put yourself in the shoes of the business owner. Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable engaging a marketing consultant, and trusting them with your business details, who has produced real results?

I know I would — and do. Keep this in mind for your next presentation. Sizzle is attractive. But the steak is what will bring you to the client’s table.e