Data for today’s episode is provided by Mercator Advisory Group’s report – U.S. Small Businesses are Reeling as a Result of COVID-19
Who Are Small Businesses Turning to for Advice during COVID-19?
- The short answer: Everybody.
- In 2020, small businesses ranked higher interest in advice from 11 of 12 channels surveyed compared to 2019.
- Small businesses turn to banks first by a wide margin. 66% of small businesses turned to their bank for advice in 2020 vs. 59% in 2019.
- 47% of small businesses report turning to employees for advice, vs. 39% in 2019.
- The largest % increase in business advice came from financial advisors, used by 41% of small businesses in 2020, vs. 31% in 2019.
- Technology advisors also saw an outsized increase as a small business resource: 29% of small businesses used one in 2020, vs. 22% in 2019.
- “Friends and family” as well as “accountant” saw only a nominal 1% increase as a small business resource.
- The only category which saw a decline as a small business resource was “Industry Publications”, used by 15% of small businesses in 2020, vs. 16% in 2019.
About Report
Mercator Advisory Group’s new Insight Summary Report, 2020 Small Business PaymentsInsights, COVID-19 and B2B Payments & Cards – The Result of the Pandemic, reveals that U.S. small businesses have a much less positive view of the future than in previous years. The report is the first of three from Mercator’s annual Small Business PaymentsInsights Survey Series, a part of Mercator’s Primary Data Service. It is based on findings from Mercator Advisory Group’s online survey of 2,000 U.S. small businesses fielded in March and April 2020.
The report details the ways COVID-19 has changed small businesses and their outlook on the near-term future of their businesses. The report also provides insight into how small businesses bank and pay for goods and services, their banking relationships, how they view technology and their top business concerns.
“Small businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic. In many ways, more than their larger counterparts. Organizations that service small business have an opportunity to help these firms as they try to come out of the COVID crisis,” states the author of the report, Pete Reville, Director of Primary Data Services including Small Business PaymentsInsights Survey Series at Mercator Advisory Group.
