79 PERCENT OF SMALL BUSINESSES REVEALED A CONFIDENT TO NEUTRAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK IN 2010

Constant Contact's 2010 Small Business Attitudes & Outlook Survey with ACCE, SCORE, and ASBDC partners reveals increased confidence among small businesses

Waltham, MA - April 12, 2010

Seventy-nine percent of small businesses revealed a confident to neutral outlook for the U.S. economy over the next 12 months, according to the Small Business Attitudes & Outlook Survey conducted by Constant Contact®, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTCT), a leading provider of email marketing, event marketing, and online survey tools for small organizations. Constant Contact conducted the survey in collaboration with other small business advocates, including the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), SCORE, and the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) -- all of which are organizations dedicated to the success of small businesses.

Key findings from this survey of nearly 7,000 small business respondents are:

• Small businesses anticipate growth in 2010
• Small businesses are doing more with less
• Small businesses look for new efficiencies as costs increase
• Small businesses question government support

"Small businesses across the country were among the most heavily impacted by the economic downturn. However, the results of our survey suggest that we are starting to see a leveling-off effect that has these determined small business owners feeling more optimistic," said Gail Goodman, CEO and chairman, Constant Contact. "The improving sentiment among small businesses is particularly encouraging, as these passionate and innovative small businesses are the organizations that have led the U.S. economy out of past recessions. I encourage everyone to do their part and help support small businesses in their neighborhood." 

Small Businesses Anticipate Growth in 2010

Survey respondents' generally optimistic outlook for growth is highlighted by the fact that 70 percent of surveyed businesses expect their business to grow in 2010. Of those respondents anticipating growth, 39 percent expect to hire additional employees.

In 2010 do you expect your business to?

If growing significantly or moderately, do you plan on hiring additional employees this year?

Small Businesses Are Doing More With Less

According to the survey, 66 percent of surveyed businesses experienced increased costs of doing business over the last 12 months (up from 59 percent in 2009). The main areas affected by increased costs include: materials and supplies (64 percent); marketing (57 percent); and taxes (45 percent).

In response, small businesses are cutting back, but are focusing predominantly on reducing operating costs (57 percent) and travel and entertainment (43 percent), rather than headcount reductions. Unfortunately, respondents noted that economic pressures have forced them to further reduce their marketing budget (43 percent, up from 29 percent in 2009) and prices (31 percent, up from 26 percent in 2009).

How, if at all, has your cost of doing business changed in the last 12 months?

In which areas of your business have you seen a significant or moderate increase in costs during the last 12 months?

Have economic pressures forced you to take any of the following actions?

As Costs Increase Small Businesses Look for New Efficiencies

Small business survey respondents indicated that marketing is one of the areas where they need the most help -- on par with sales and growth planning (both 23 percent). They are also focusing on less expensive methods of marketing through the online marketing tools available to them (e.g. email marketing and social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

Despite the growing popularity of online marketing technologies, email marketing is still more popular than online advertising. Eighty-nine percent of surveyed businesses indicated that email marketing was very or somewhat important to them in finding new customers and 88 percent responded that email marketing is an important tool for marketing their business.

How important to your business is each of the following methods in finding new customers or members?

Fifty-nine percent of survey respondents also identified that effectively reaching their audience was the most difficult aspect of running a business, which may account for the rapid adoption of social media tools. Generally, small businesses also believe that social media sites, including Facebook (51 percent), blogs (29 percent), and LinkedIn (27 percent), are important to market their business.

Please indicate which of the following tools you consider important for marketing your small business or organization?

Small Businesses Remain Focused on Their Own Efforts to Boost Business and the Economy

Government initiatives to foster small business recovery are leading news stories, but small business sentiment is divided around how they rate the federal government's support for small business. Forty-nine percent of respondents indicated they felt the government was moderately to highly unsupportive, while 27 percent were neutral.

In a sign of the times, only 12 percent of small businesses surveyed reported that they had secured additional funding in the past year, while 16 percent said they were unsuccessful in their attempt to secure financing for their business.

Despite the raging debate regarding health care reform legislation and its landmark passage, 35 percent of surveyed businesses do not understand or have enough information to know how it will impact their business. Twenty-three percent believe health care reform will have little impact on their business.

How would you rate the federal government's attitude toward small businesses?

Have you sought additional financing (investment or loan) in the last 12 months?

Which of the following statements best describes your attitude toward healthcare reform and how you think it will impact your business?

How the Survey Was Conducted

The 2010 Small Business Attitudes & Outlook Survey was conducted through a targeted online distribution to U.S. small business owners. Results from more than 6,800 respondents were recorded. This survey was conducted from February 22, 2010, through April 1, 2010. Click here for the full survey results.
*Note: Survey results were rounded to the nearest whole number, raw survey results are represented in the full survey summary accessible through the link above.

About SCORE
Since 1964, SCORE, "Counselors to America's Small Business," has helped more than 8.5 million aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners through counseling and business workshops. More than 12,000 volunteer business counselors in 364 chapters serve their communities through entrepreneur education dedicated to the formation, growth, and success of small businesses.

For more information about starting or operating a small business, call 1-800-634-0245 for the SCORE chapter nearest you. Visit SCORE on the Web at www.score.org.

About the American Chamber of Commerce Executives
Established in 1914, the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) is the only national association serving the professional development needs of chamber professionals throughout the United States and Canada. Representing more than 7,000 individuals, ACCE enhances the knowledge, leadership skills, and management effectiveness of chamber executives and their staffs through education, benefits programs, trend analysis, benchmarking, and network development. ACCE supports and develops chamber professionals to lead businesses and their communities. For more information on the American Chamber of Commerce Executives and all its resources, send questions or call 703-998-0072.

About the Association of Small Business Development Centers
Established through a public/private partnership by Congress in 1980, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) program is the most comprehensive, efficient, and effective business assistance network in the United States. Its mission is to help new entrepreneurs realize their dream of business ownership and existing businesses remain competitive in the complex marketplace of an ever-changing global economy. More than 1,100 local SBDC offices extend entrepreneurial education to meet small business needs through individual counseling, training, and research assistance, while serving more than 1.3 million clients annually, creating over 74,000 new jobs, and generating $500,000,000 in new tax revenues. Based in universities, colleges, and economic development agencies, SBDCs are funded by state and local partnerships to match U.S. Small Business Administration support. For more information, please visit http://www.asbdc-us.org/index.html.

About Constant Contact, Inc.
With more than 350,000 customers, Constant Contact, Inc. is a leading provider of email marketing, event marketing, and online surveys for small businesses, nonprofits, and member associations. Founded in 1995, Constant Contact helps small organizations grow stronger customer relationships by delivering professional, low cost, easy-to-use online tools backed with award-winning support, education, and personal coaching. Constant Contact is a publicly traded company (Nasdaq: CTCT) with offices located in Waltham, Mass.; Loveland, Colo.; and Delray, Fla. To learn more, please visit www.ConstantContact.com or call 781-472-8100.

Constant Contact and the Constant Contact Logo are registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All Constant Contact product names and other brand names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

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