Vistaprint Survey Shows Small Businesses Owners Met Goal of Increasing Customer Base in 2012

VENLO, The Netherlands - Vistaprint N.V., a leading online provider of professional marketing products and services to micro businesses and the home, today revealed the results of its quarterly “Small Business Happiness Index.” The index gauges micro business owner sentiment and provides insights on topics that include overall happiness, customer growth, and revenue. Additionally, Vistaprint explored small business owners’ reflections on 2012, their outlook compared to this time last year, and their perspective on 2013.

Last year, the Small Business Happiness Index survey showed that the number one goal for small business owners was to increase their number of customers in 2012. This year, the survey revealed that 73 percent of small business owners did, indeed, see a positive increase in customer growth.

With regard to revenue, compared to this time last year, 60 percent of small businesses surveyed reported revenue growth in 2012, a slight decrease from the 71 percent of small business owners that reported an increase in revenue in 2011. However, 79 percent of small business owners anticipate their company will grow revenue in 2013.

“It is encouraging to hear that small business owners are optimistic about their revenue goals and company growth,” said Don LeBlanc, chief marketing officer for Vistaprint. “As a company, we are constantly evolving to meet the needs of our customers, and always look forward to the feedback from these surveys so that we can continue to help small business owners meet their goals with professional, affordable and personalized marketing materials.”

Similar to last year, a majority of the small business owners surveyed say word-of-mouth referrals from customers had the largest impact on customer growth. This year, small business owners plan to invest most in customer referrals through many strategies, including mentioning a referral program on business cards, postcards and marketing materials.

The quarterly Small Business Happiness Index survey generated nearly 1,300 responses from U.S.-based micro businesses (businesses with between 1-10 employees) and revealed that the vast majority of micro business owners are optimistic about running their own businesses, with 78 percent reporting that they are either happy or very happy. Even though it is only February, 48 percent of small business owners report that they are already on track to make more than they did last year.

Vistaprint conducts regular surveys with its U.S. micro business customer base, defined as small businesses with between 1-10 employees that primarily work out of their homes and generate less than $100,000 annually in revenues. This online survey was conducted from February 10 to 17, 2013 with nearly 1,300 total respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

While the Small Business Happiness Index offers insight about the sentiment of micro businesses generally, it does not indicate or represent changes in Vistaprint's business results for any period.