2014

Business Barometer
Research Report
Conducted October 2014
301 Business Owners
New Jersey
1

Table of Contents
Background & Methodology

Execu=ve Summary

Insights Data Charts

Respondent Company Proles Data Charts

3 - 4

5 - 18

19 - 44

45 - 51

Background & Methodology

Background & Methodology

In October 2014, Provident Bank commissioned an Internet study to
measure aQtudes and behaviors of business owners in NJ
The study was conducted by Brand Champs
The survey launched on 10/9 and closed on 10/27
A total of 301 NJ business owners were surveyed
The sample included 176 businesses that are non-Provident customers
and 125 Provident customers
2014 responses were compared to 2013 responses
In 2013, 344 business owners were surveyed in NJ (171 non-Provident
customers and 173 Provident customers)

ExecuEve Summary

Business Performance Great + Good

(Reasons are VerbaEm Responses) Pages 20 & 21
Business performance increased in 2014 vs. 2013 Great + Good
2013 = 37%
2014 = 43%
Reasons cited for increased business performance
Increased sales
2013 = 28%
2014 = 33%
New customers
2013 = 9%
2014 = 13%

Business Performance Struggling + Poor

(Reasons are VerbaEm Responses) Pages 20 & 22
Less businesses reported Struggling + Poor in 2014 vs. 2013
2013 = 31%
2014 = 26%

Reasons cited for Struggling + Poor business performance

Weak economy
2013 = 28%
2014 =23%

Low consumer condence

2013 = 23%
2014 = 18%

Page 23

Business OpEmism About Next Year

Op=mism about next year in 2014 increased vs. 2013 Very +
Somewhat
2013 = 78%
2014 = 82%

Page 24

Importance of Business Concerns

The state of the economy con=nues to be the most important business
concern (rated on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1=not at all important and
5=very important)
2013 = 4.42
2014 = 4.34

The importance of state property taxes increased in 2014 vs. 2013

2013 = 3.53
2014 = 3.96

Other concerns that increased in importance in 2014 vs. 2013 are . . .

Cyber threats (2013 = 2.36 vs. 2014 = 2.82)
Terrorism or natural disasters (2013 = 2.72 vs. 2014 = 2.92)

MarkeEng to Millennials
(Not measured in 2013)

Pages 25 & 26

24% of respondents indicate Millennials are 50% or more of their target

audience
53% of respondents indicate Millennials are 25% or more of their target
audience
Companies that market to Millennials use 2 types of tac=cs more than
others . . . social media (47%) and delivering a personalized experience
(38%)
Other tac=cs used include mobile markeFng (17%) and referrals (30%)

10

Giving Back To The Community

(Not measured in 2013)

Pages 27 - 29

86% of NJ companies gave back to their community in 2014

71% of NJ companies contributed goods & services
67% contributed money
12% report giving employees paid =me o to volunteer
50% of companies indicate they plan to give the same back to the
community in 2015 as they did in 2014
22% indicate they plan to give more back to their community
26% of companies responded not sure about our plans for giving back
in 2014
2% plan to give back less

11

ProtecEon Against Fraud & Cybercrime

(Not measured in 2013)

Pages 30 & 31

86% of respondents indicate they protect their companies against fraud &
cybercrime
The tac=c men=oned most frequently for protec=ng against fraud &
cybercrime is having installed a rewall, anF-virus or malware (57%)
The tac=c men=oned 2nd is using online bill pay (36%)
The 3rd highest men=oned tac=c is having a password policy (30%)
The tac=c men=oned with the lowest incidence is having a dedicated
computer for banking (19%)

12

Workforce

Pages 32 - 35

51% of respondents indicate they worked more hours in 2014 than they
did in the previous year (not asked in 2013)
62% of 2014 respondents indicate their workforce remained the same in
the past year (In 2013, the response was 67%)
63% of companies dont plan to make workforce changes in the next year
(In 2013, this response was 60%)
In 2014, the greatest percentage of companies that plan to make
workforce changes in the next year, plan to hire part-Fme employees
2014 = 57%
2013 = 40%
In 2014, 46% of companies plan to hire full-Fme employees next year
this is more than double the plan to hire full-=me employees reported in
the 2013 study (20%)
13

Page 36

Projected Business Growth In Next Year

More respondents in the 2014 study than the 2013 study project their
business growth will be more than 5% next year
2014 = 29%
2013 = 26%
22% of respondents in the 2014 and 2013 study indicate their business
growth will be in the range of 3% - <5%

14

Best News & Most Important Lesson

(VerbaEm Responses)

Pages 37 & 38

In 2013, 50% of respondents indicated they didnt hear any good news in
the past year. In 2014, this percentage decreased to 40%
In 2014, Unemployment Was Down was reported as good news
heard in past year by 7% of respondents
In 2014, 16% of respondents indicate the most important lesson learned
in past year was to Keep up with changes in technology & markeFng
Other lessons learned in 2014 include . . .
Work harder & smarter keep pushing forward (10%)
Retaining customers & importance of good customer service (11%)
Note: in 2013, the ques=on was asked specically about what business
owners learned since Super Storm Sandy since responses from that
study were Sandy-specic, they do not track with 2014 responses

15

Pages 39 - 42

Borrowed/Plan to Borrow Money For Business

In 2014, 23% of respondents indicate they borrowed money for their
business in the past year (21% in 2013)
44% of 2014 respondents who indicated they borrowed money for their
business in the past year, used it for growth (27% in 2013)
40% of respondents indicated they borrowed money for new equipment
(23% in 2013)
In 2014, 31% of respondents indicate they plan to borrow money for their
business in the next year (32% in 2013)
60% of 2014 respondents who indicated they plan to borrow money for
their business, plan to use it for growth (33% in 2013)
Other 2014 high incidence men=ons include capital improvements (33%)
and new equipment (35%)
In 2013, these reasons were men=oned at a lower incidence capital
improvements (16%) and new equipment (17%)
16

Banking Behavior

Pages 43 & 44

In 2014, 45% of NJ respondents indicate they use online banking more

than 50%.
This was not asked in 2013
In 2014 and 2013, more than 90% of respondents indicate they use
business checking (2014 = 92% vs. 2013 = 91%) and more than 40% use
online banking and bill pay (2014 = 44% vs. 2013 = 46%)

17

Pages 46 - 51

Respondent Company Prole

In 2014, 57% of respondent businesses are family owned/operated (58%

in 2013), 39% are privately held (42% in 2013), and 4% publicly traded (1%
in 2013 )
In 2014, 35% of respondent businesses have been in business from 21 to
50 years (in 2013, this percentage was 26%)
In 2014, 21% of respondent businesses have been in business from 1 to 5
years (in 2013, this percentage was 28%)
In 2014, 50% of respondent businesses are in the service industry (49% in
2013)
In 2014, 84% of respondent businesses have less than 20 full-=me
employees (86% in 2013)
In 2014, 50% of respondent businesses have 0 part-=me employees, and
44% have 1 to 20 part-=me employees (not tracked with same response
op=ons in 2013)

18

Insights
Data Charts

19

Business Performance Past Year

%

2014

12

31

31

17

Great
Good
We Held Our Own
Struggling A Bit

2013

28

20

33

40

60

23

80

Poor

100

120
20

Why? Business Performance Great + Good Responses

Highest Incidence Verba=m Responses

Sales

9
33

13

2013 New Customers

2014 New Customers

28

2013 Increased Sales

2014 Increased Sales

21

Why? Business Performance Struggling + Poor Responses

Highest Incidence Verba=m Responses

Sales

23

28

2013 Low Consumer

Condence

23

18

2014 Low Consumer

Condence
2013 Weak Economy
2014 Weak Economy

22

Business OpEmism Next Year

%

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

20

23
Very Op=mis=c

58

59

Somewhat Op=mis=c
Not Very Op=mis=c
Not At All Op=mis=c

17
5

2013

15
3

2014
23

Importance of Business Concerns

Scale of 1-5 (1=Not at all Important, 5=Very Important)

4.34

2014

3.96

2.82

State Of The Economy

2.92

State Property Taxes

Cyber Threats
4.42

2013

3.53

2.36

10

2.72

Terrorism Or Natural
Disasters

15
24

Millennials Target Audience

%

2014

20

13

29

Not asked in 2013

34

0%
<25%
25% - <50%
50% - <75%
75% - <100%

25

Methods of MarkeEng To Millennials

%

Respondents Who Market To Millennials

2014

MulEple Responses

30
47

Social Media
Personalized Experience
Mobile Marke=ng

17

Referrals
38

Not asked in 2013

26

Company Gave Back To The Community In 2014

%

2014

14

Yes
No
86

Not asked in 2013

27

Method Of Giving Back To Community 2014

%

Companies Who Gave Back in 2014

2014

MulEple Responses

12
71

Contributed Goods/
Services
Contributed Money

67

Gave Employees Paid

Time O To Volunteer

Not asked in 2013

28

Plans To Give Back To Community In 2015

%
2014

22

26
Not Sure
Give Same
Give More

50

Give Less

Not asked in 2013

29

ProtecEon Against Fraud & Cybercrime

%
2014

14

Yes
No

86

Not asked in 2013

30

Methods For ProtecEng Against Fraud & Cybercrime

%

Companies Who Protect Against Fraud & Cybercrime

2014

MulEple Responses

Use Online Bill Pay

22

36

Firewall, An=-virus

26
30

57
19

Dedicated Computer For

Banking
Password Policy
Educate Sta
Insurance Policy

Not asked in 2013

31

Owner Hours Worked in 2014 Vs. 2013

%

2014

32
Same Number of Hours
Less Hours

51

More Hours
17

Not asked in 2013

32

Changes To Size Of Workforce In Past Year

%
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

62

17

20
2014
2013

67

Remained The
Same

15

Decreased

18

Increased

33

Do You Plan To Make Workforce Changes Next Year?

Sales
%
40

63

2013 Yes
37

2014 Yes
2013 No

60

2014 No

34

Types Of Workforce Changes Planned For Next Year

%
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Of Those Respondents Who Plan To Make

Workforce Changes Next Year
17
19

7
14
6
13

13
15

MulEple Responses
Decrease Use Of
Consultants
Increase Use Of
Consultants
Decrease PT Sta

57
Decreast FT Sta

40
20
2013

46

Hire PT Employees
Hire FT Employees

2014
35

Projected Business Growth In Next Year

%
100%

90%

80%
70%
60%
50%
40%

30%

20%
10%
0%

15

14

22

20

29
2014
2013

12

>10%
Growth

14

5% - 10%
Growth

22

3% - <5%
Growth

24

<3%
Growth

28

Remain
The Same
36

Best News In NJ In Past Year

%

Highest Incidence Verba=m Responses

40

2014

I Didn't Hear Any Good

News In Past Year

6 0

Unemployment Was
Down
State Economy Improved
50

2013

20

0 6

40

60

13

Rebuilding Arer Sandy

80
37

Most Important Lesson Learned In Past Year

%

Highest Incidence Verba=m Responses

2014

11

16

Keep Up With Changes In

Technology & Marke=ng
Work Harder & Smarter,
Keep Pushing Forward

10

Retaining Customers &

Importance Of Good
Customer Service

In 2013, the ques=on was asked specically about what business owners
learned since Super Storm Sandy 2013 responses do not track with 2014
responses.

38

Borrowed Money For Business In Past Year

%
Sales
21
23

77

Yes 2013
Yes 2014
No 2013
79

No 2014

39

Borrowed Money Used For

%

44

2014

Respondents Who Indicated They

Borrowed Money For Their Business

40

4 7 10

MulEple Responses

Growth

30

Oce Expansion
Sta Expansion
Acquisi=on
27 3 6 5 23

2013

50

New Equipment

19

Capital Improvements

100

150
40

Plan To Borrow Money For Business In Next Year

%
Sales
32
69
Yes 2013
68
31

No 2013
Yes 2014
No 2014

41

Plan To Use Borrowed Money In Next Year For

Respondents Who Plan To Borrow Money

60

2014

9 13 17

35

MulEple Responses

Growth

33

Oce Expansion
Sta Expansion
Acquisi=on
New Equipment

33 8 12 7 17 16

2013

50

100

Capital Improvements

150

200
42

Frequency Of ConducEng Online Banking For Business

%
2014

30

16
Never
22

<25%
25% - <50%

15
17

50% - <75%
75% - 100%

Not asked in 2013

43

Bank Services Used By Businesses

Respondents With Highest Incidence

MulEple Responses

250
200
91

92

150
100
50

23
30
18

27

46

44

30
18

Business Checking
Business Savings
Credit Card
Credit Line
Online Banking & Bill Pay

0
2013

2014
44

Respondent Company Proles

Data Charts

45

Prole
Number of Businesses Surveyed

Number

176

173

2013 Provident Customers

2013 Non-Provident
Customers

125

171

2014 Provident Customers

2014 Non-Provident
Customers

46

Type of Business %
Sales
2013 Publicly
Traded

1 4
42

57

2014 Publicly
Traded
2013 Privately
Held

39
58

2014 Privately
Held
2013 Family
Owned/Operated
2014 Family
Owned/Operated
47

Number of Years in Business

%

21

2014

12

22

35

11

1-5 yrs
6-10 yrs
11-20 yrs
21-50 yrs

28

2013

20

15

40

20

60

26

12

80

100

50+ yrs

120
48

Industry
%

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Manufacturing
Service

49

50

7
12

6
13

16

16

5
4

4
4

2013

2014

inancial
Financial ++ Insurance
Insurance
Healthcare
Retail + Hospitality
Publishing + Media
Transporta=on &
Distribu=on
49

Number of Full-Time Employees

%

120
100
<20

80
60

86

84

100-499
500+

40
20

20-99

8
4
3

2013

11
4
1

2014
50

Number of Part-Time Employees

%

2014
6
50
44

20-50
<20
0

Note: 2013 data not applicable dierent response op=ons in 2013 (no 0)
51