Small businesses don’t have money and time to spend on marketing, so they tend to stick to what is cheap and proven to work, shying away from mobile marketing schemes or “daily deals” by Groupon and similar companies, according to a new report.

MerchantCircle, a nationwide online network of small and medium-sized businesses, surveyed 8,500 of its members and found that few of them understand how mobile marketing works or want to try it. Among survey participants, more than half of those who tried a “daily deal” type of promotion through Groupon, LivingSocial or a similar service said they would not repeat it, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The typical local merchant spends just $2,500 per year on marketing, and tends to spend that money on inexpensive campaigns like Facebook and Twitter. Social networks, search engine results from Google Inc. and other companies, and e-mail were three of the top methods used by small businesses for marketing, and they were rated the most effective, too.
“In spite of the hype around mobile marketing, less than 15 percent of merchants report doing any sort of mobile marketing or advertising,” the report said.