Engaging Small Business Owners in America

Small businesses drive the American economy and their owners reflect the diverse cultures and perspectives of Americans. Read on for more information about how to connect with small business owners by understanding how they see themselves, their goals, challenges, and motivations for partnering with larger companies. 

Reading Time: 3 minutes

April 15, 2022
Jack Mackinnon – Senior Director of Cultural Insights

Nearly all private businesses in the U.S. are small businesses and 6 million of those companies have at least one paid employee. At the helm of all that economic heft is an owner who tends to be highly engaged in the day-to-day decisions of the business. As a result, small business owners make up an important segment with whom marketers and larger businesses should engage and build partnerships. In our recent Small Business Owners Study we look at small business owners’ identity (collective and by sub-segment), future outlook, operations, and relationship with larger companies. Read below for highlights of the study and download the deck for the full picture.

Read on and fill out the form for an excerpt from our Engage Small Business Owners in America presentation. 

Engage Small Business Owners in America

Key Insight #1: Identity

Small business owners, especially Hispanic, Black, and Asian American small business owners, describe themselves as being innovative, driven, and community-oriented. There is also a sense of shared culture among minority small business owners and a strong connection between Black small business owners and the communities where their businesses operate.

Hispanic and Black small business owners are driven

Implication:

Small Business Owners see themselves as innovative, driven, and community-oriented, so focus in on those attributes in your communication with the segment.

Key Insight #2: Outlook

Small business owners are confident that their business prospects are going to continue to improve over the next year. Hispanic and Black owners are especially optimistic about how their businesses are performing compared to last year and will perform into the next.

Small business owners are becoming optimistic

Implication:

Harness the positivity! Even though this hasn’t been an easy year, recognize Multicultural Small Business Owners’ positive sentiment and match it in your communications.

Key Insight #3: Operations

Small Business Owners are hands-on leaders that play a significant— if not complete role— when making operational decisions including benefits, finance, technology, etc.

Many small business owners make primary decisions

Implication:

Address marketing communication directly to small business owners, themselves. Despite their busy and varied schedules, owners are usually at the heart of their company’s day-to-day decisions.

Contact us at the form below to learn more about how you can gain access to these diverse consumer insights and much more in our Cultural Intelligence Platform.

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Jack McKinnon

Jack McKinnon

With more than 15 years of diverse consumer research experience, Jack Mackinnon offers deep expertise in Multicultural, Generational, LGBTQ+ consumers, and their intersection. Jack’s research extends into exploring culture-at-large, investigating broader societal trends not easily categorized into typical areas of research.

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