More than nine out of ten small business owners admit their financial decisions are influenced by the national economy, according to a new poll.

The survey conducted by The Local Corporation, indicated that marketing decisions were amongst the main decisions swayed by the economic climate, with 40 per cent claiming they have considered cutting advertising budgets.

However, 56 per cent have pledged to follow the advice of government ministers and make a “significant” investment in their business, despite the recession.

This statistic will be particularly pleasing to business minister Vince Cable, who has made it clear that small businesses need to invest in order to help the country out of recession. Such advice would stand true for owners of new businesses or those who have signed a franchise agreement.

According to bizreport.com, many of these investments will involve a new digital marketing campaign. Sixty-three per cent of business owners questioned have already invested in digital marketing, whilst 30 per cent stated they would up their digital marketing spend in 2013.

In an interview with 4-traders.com, The Local Corporation’s chairman Heath Clarke said these statistics show businesses are keener to get value for money from their marketing.

He explained: “Based on digital media growth projections, small businesses clearly see the value in moving their dollars from traditional to digital media, which is why we’ve focused our development efforts in this area.”