There are no universal solutions for Marketing. Each business, regardless of its scale, needs to find a solution that best fits its needs and strategy. However, keeping watch on other enterprises and trends can give help lead you in the right direction. A study from all-in-one online marketing platform GetResponse examines the direction that small and midsized businesses plan to take this year.

The GetResponse study of 200 U.S.-based SMB decision-makers was conducted at the end of 2016 and provides insight into both the trends that lead the marketing industry as a whole and the specifics for SMBs.

Overall, 70 percent of the study participants said their digital and web-based marketing budgets will increase this year, and of that group, 30 percent are increasing their budgets “considerably.” Nearly 60 percent of those increasing their budgets plan to expand their social marketing spending, 50 percent plan to increase spend on Mobile marketing and 42 percent plan to increase spend on the ever-reliable email marketing.

While SMBs might have smaller budgets than the big brands, they still need to be prepared to invest in the same methods and techniques and go where the audiences are. GetResponse founder and CEO Simon Grabowski urges SMBs to focus on mobile especially:

Mobile marketing is increasingly important given the surging content consumption numbers across smartphones and tablets. And social media usage has only grown in tandem with mobile consumption, as the most popular platforms are mobile-first. Email, too, has become a  mobile-driven activity. Ultimately, mobile is the reason why these areas will drive spend in the new year.

Some marketers are gearing up for the shifting marketplace, with 28 percent planning to invest in video production, 26 percent to invest in content creation and management and 16 percent wanting to create better “commerce experiences.”

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