Small business trends you can’t afford to ignore

Find out what small businesses like yours are doing to adapt and thrive in today’s economy.

The 2024 State of Business Growth report reveals how recent market shifts are impacting small businesses, what strategies set teams who achieved their 2023 goals apart from those who did not, and action plans to inform your 2024 goals.

Book cover of The State of Business Growth in 2024

CHALLENGES

Businesses face significant headwinds

Recent market shifts, such as AI and remote work, have changed buyer behavior. The most successful small businesses are adapting their marketing approaches and making investments in AI, process automation, partnerships and software. .

52%

of marketing and sales pros find
it hard to build customer loyalty

41%

of leaders struggle to find
time to get everything done

39%

of scaling small businesses face
challenges when it comes
to differentiating their businesses
from competitors

52%

of marketing and sales
pros find it hard to build
customer loyalty

41%

of leaders struggle to find
time to get everything done

39%

of scaling small businesses
face challenges when it comes
to differentiating their
businesses from competitors

How are you planning to grow your revenue in 2024?

 
 
 
 

TECHNOLOGY & LEADS

Growth companies use technology strategically

The most successful small businesses are leveraging software tools not only in the initial sales and marketing process, but also for customer retention, referrals and repeat business. Depending on the industry, the mix of most-used software varies. .

Growth
achievers are

2x

more likely than
underperformers to use AI

51%

of businesses would invest
more in marketing if revenue
increased

54%

of all businesses use social
media to generate leads

Growth
achievers are

2x

omore likely than
underperformers to use AI

51%

of businesses would invest
more in marketing if revenue
increased

54%

of all businesses use social
media to generate leads

What would you do if you could save 10 hours per week on administrative tasks?

 
 
 
 

FUTURE INVESTMENTS

Smart investments beyond marketing and sales

Feeding the top of the funnel is a top priority for most growing businesses, yet savvy growth companies look beyond the obvious to invest in business processes, people and technology that give them an edge over the competition. .

45%

of businesses recognize the
need to improve their processes
this year

76%

of growth achievers are satisfied
with their partnerships, compared
to only 14% of underperformers

84%

of growth achievers report that
AI has positively impacted
revenue, compared to only 65%
of underperformers

45%

of businesses recognize
the need to improve their
processes this year

76%

of growth achievers are
satisfied with their
partnerships, compared to
only 14% of underperformers

84%

of growth achievers report
that AI has positively impacted
revenue, compared to only
65% of underperformers

If you could increase your revenue by 10%, how would you spend it?

 
 
 
 

ACTION PLAN

Get a growth plan based on your business size

This year’s report distills the survey findings into three step-by-step growth plans, one for each of the following business types:

  • Emerging small businesses (1 to 10 employees)
  • Scaling small businesses (11 to 99 employees)
  • Mid-market companies (100 to 1000+ employees)

Example of sales pipeline in Keap app

Business automation is a must-have for sustainable growth

Savvy small businesses are applying automation throughout their entire business to grow revenue while decreasing costs. The four key areas include:

Marketing automation

Collect leads and build relationships with leads and clients.

Sales
automation

Convert clients and optimize the sales process.

Service automation

Create fans and deliver a consistent customer experience.

Operations automation

Streamline internal processes and automate mundane tasks.

Conquer business chaos with automations like:

Take leads from contact form to appointment booked without doing a thing.

New leads create a new deal in your sales pipeline with emails about offerings and promotions to follow.

Automations will remind your clients when they’ve overlooked an invoice and send a thank you email once they’ve paid in full.

Create an automation that delivers key onboarding information to new employees, assigns new-hire tasks and more!

Example of in app lead capture automation
Example of in app sales nurture automation
Example of in app purchase follow-up automation
Example of in app new hire onboarding automation

Get a growth plan based on your business size

Download the free report to learn:

  • 24 key insights on how businesses are adapting to trends
  • The number one challenge for founders
  • The number one challenge for marketing and sales pros
  • What actions set businesses who achieved their 2023 goals apart from those who did not

Plus, you’ll get an action plan based on your business size.

Don’t leave your business growth to chance. Get the data you need to dial in your goals for better results in 2024 and beyond.