Many small businesses don't have a marketing plan

According to research carried out by a digital marketing agency, the majority of small businesses in the UK do not have a documented marketing plan, with 64% of business owners stating that they do not have one.

It appears that most business owners prefer to play things by ear when it comes to their marketing, when asked "Do you have a written/documented marketing plan?" 64.4% of small business owners answered "No".

The study was conducted by Engineered Marketing as part of their research into small businesses in the UK and how they manage their marketing.

The most interesting finding was that women appeared to be less likely to have a marketing plan, with 70% of women saying they did not have a marketing plan compared to just 62.2% of men.

When broken down by age, it appears as though the older generations tended to be better prepared with a marketing plan, with those aged over 65 being the best prepared. The age groups with the highest percentage with a marketing plan were as follows:

1. 65+ year olds (40%)
2. 55-64 year olds (38.9%)
3. 45-54 year olds (33.2%)
4. 35-44 year olds (32%)
5. 18-24 year olds (31.6%)
6. 25-34 year olds (30.8%)

"It appears that age is a factor in how likely people are to take the marketing planning process seriously, this could be down to experience or it may be that the older we become the less prepared we are to take risks," David Whitehouse, owner of Engineered Marketing, said.

"It's good news for those companies who do have a marketing plan in place - as they are likely to outperform competitors without one."