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Customer-Centric Marketing & Tech: How Small Businesses Are Winning in 2025

Customer-Centric Marketing & Tech: How Small Businesses Are Winning in 2025

July 14, 20254 min read

By Vicky Sidler | Published 14 July 2025 at 12:00 GMT

There’s a reason your neighbor’s side hustle just became a full-time business while you're still wondering if your website’s contact form works.

According to Constant Contact’s latest Small Business Now report, the small business crowd isn’t just hanging on—they’re quietly rewriting the marketing rulebook. And it turns out, the winners are the ones getting closer to their customers and smarter with their tech.


TL;DR

  • 63% of new businesses still rely heavily on social media—but the savvier ones are diversifying

  • 33% say email is their secret weapon for conversions (finally)

  • 91% say tech made the difference in their success

  • 72% plan to use AI in marketing this year

  • The mindset? Realistic about challenges, but 95% say they’d do it all again

  • Want to stay in the game? Build relationships, simplify your message, and don’t ghost your own email list

Need help getting your message right? Grab my free 5-Minute Marketing Fix. It’s a quick and easy tool to help you get clear and build trust fast.


The New Marketing Reality—Less Flash, More Follow-Through:

If you think small businesses are just winging it on Instagram and praying for engagement, you’re only half right. Most early-stage business owners do start with social media—it’s cheap, easy, and gives you that instant hit of likes and validation.

But once the dopamine wears off, the serious ones start building something deeper.

Here’s what they’re doing differently:

  • 63% say social is still their go-to—but it’s not their only play

  • 33% are leaning into email to nurture loyalty and drive actual sales

  • SMS is still the underdog, with only 15% using it—but that’s likely to change

These are not vanity metrics. These are signs that business owners are starting to care less about reach and more about results.

Why Email (Still) Works in 2025:

Email marketing feels like the cauliflower of digital marketing—no one’s excited about it, but it’s surprisingly good for you.

And here’s why it’s finally getting the attention it deserves:

  • It goes directly to people who opted in (unlike your reels that die in the algorithm graveyard)

  • It’s trackable, testable, and scalable

  • It plays well with automation and AI—two things busy business owners need

If you’ve been treating your email list like a gym membership (paid for, rarely used), it’s time for a reset. The small business owners seeing growth are the ones sending simple, helpful messages regularly—not three-paragraph essays once a quarter.

Tech Isn’t Optional—It’s the New Muscle:

91% of new business owners credit technology as a major factor in their success. That’s not a trend—it’s a business requirement.

And no, you don’t need to turn into a full-stack developer. But you do need to:

  • Automate the boring stuff (bookings, follow-ups, reminders)

  • Use software that tracks what works (and what’s wasting your time)

  • Embrace AI tools that actually save time—like automated copy suggestions, customer tagging, and campaign reporting

Still writing your newsletters from scratch at 11:45 p.m. the night before launch? That’s a burnout plan, not a growth plan.

Customer-Centric Isn’t Just a Buzzword:

Let’s talk about your customers. The ones who ghost your invoices but like every one of your posts.

Today’s high-performing small businesses aren’t chasing virality—they’re investing in real relationships. That means:

  • Knowing who your best customers are

  • Talking to them in plain language (see: StoryBrand)

  • Making it stupid-easy for them to buy, ask questions, or refer you

The shift from audience-building to customer-connecting is subtle, but it’s everything.

What This Means for You (And Your Marketing):

If you're feeling like everyone else has figured it out while you’re still duct-taping your tech stack together with free trials and gut instinct—you’re not alone. But you’re also not stuck.

Here's where to start:

 1️⃣ Pick one channel to improve. Email is a strong bet. So is SMS if you can be respectful and relevant.
2️⃣
Simplify your message. If your website takes more than 10 seconds to explain what you do, it’s costing you sales.
3️⃣
Use the right tech for your stage. You don’t need enterprise software—you need tools that save time, show you what’s working, and help you respond faster.

As a Duct Tape Marketing Strategist and StoryBrand Certified Guide, I help small business owners stop sounding like everyone else and start building trust where it counts—with their customers.

Need help getting your message right?

Grab my free5-Minute Marketing Fix. It’s a quick and easy tool to help you get clear and build trust fast.

blog author image

Vicky Sidler

Vicky Sidler is a seasoned journalist and StoryBrand Certified Guide with a knack for turning marketing confusion into crystal-clear messaging that actually works. Armed with years of experience and an almost suspiciously large collection of pens, she creates stories that connect on a human level.

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  • Wondering how to simplify your message? Let’s talk.

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