Most small-business owners market their business online and offline, says a Digital Micro Business Marketing Mix report by Waltham, Massachusetts-based distributor Vistaprint (UPIC: V565755). The company surveyed 1,000 U.S. small-business owners with fewer than 10 employees, micro businesses, and found that 68.5 percent of them address consumers' expectations for access to brands in both the digital and physical worlds.

“In conducting this study, we found that more than a quarter (28.9 percent) of business owners said they do not market their businesses both online and offline,” says D. Scott Bowen, vice president and general manager of Vistaprint Digital. “The combination of online and offline marketing efforts is extremely powerful, yet these efforts can all too often take a backseat to other aspects of running a small business. Despite investment of time and money, we're finding that those who prioritize consistent print and digital marketing see a significant ROI and will get a leg up on competitors this holiday shopping season and beyond.”

Nearly 33 percent of the survey’s respondents also noted that a more visually consistent online and offline marketing identity would have a substantial financial impact on their business. Almost 75 percent said that having sufficient time to spend on marketing is either very or fairly important. However, most respondents also said that balancing financial expenditures between online and offline is fairly important when it comes to marketing their business.

Vistaprint also reports that 52.7 percent of micro-business owners say that managing their online presence is very important and 30.4 percent describe it as fairly important. Social media (53.3 percent) and websites (32.7 percent) are their dominate digital marketing channels, while online ads (6.6 percent) and online directories (five percent) lag behind. Offline, business cards (51.1 percent) are the primary marketing tactic followed by print advertising (11.3 percent) and signage (6.7 percent).

More on the findings of the Digital Micro Business Marketing Mix report can be found here.