YouGov survey of 541 Thai SME leaders finds marketing support is wanted more than funding, and customer reviews carry more weight than social media
Bangkok, Thailand, November 10, 2026: A recent survey shows more than half of Thailand’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) say one of the main reasons customers choose them is the quality they offer. Yet, more than half also say they find it hard to earn customers’ trust.
A new survey of 541 Thai SME owners and senior leaders revealed this gap. The survey was conducted by YouGov on behalf of ABM Connect, a Bangkok-based PR and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) agency; Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, Thammasat University; and the Thailand Entrepreneur Marketing Association (TEMA).
In the survey, 56.1% of the respondents said customers choose them for the quality of their products or services. Still, 52.5% said building customer trust is a branding challenge. Another 41.0% find it hard to create engaging content for their online marketing, while 40.8% find it difficult to stand out from competitors.
“Existing customers can judge quality from their own experience, but new customers need proof before they buy,” said Seri Sirinopwongsagon, Executive Director of ABM Connect. “Thai SMEs know that reviews and word of mouth matter because what people say can shape how potential customers see their business.”
“Improved marketing communications will help SMEs act on that insight. Thai businesses need to make their strengths easier to judge by sharing clear facts, credible customer reviews, and real examples of results. This gives potential buyers more convincing reasons to choose a particular business,” he added.
Marketing support comes before funding
Many Thai SMEs find it hard to reach new customers. When asked what holds them back, 37.2% named limited marketing budgets as the biggest barrier. Another 35.8% said they struggled to stand out from competitors, while 34.1% pointed to having poor online visibility.
When asked what would help their businesses grow, 40.1% of survey participants chose marketing support. Business networking came next at 36.8%. Funding ranked third at 31.4%, followed closely by digital skills at 31.3%.
Reviews and word of mouth build the most trust
For the survey question about what makes a business credible, 54.0% of SMEs said customer reviews and testimonials. Word-of-mouth recommendations came next at 49.3%. Social media presence trailed at 39.3%.
Finding customers remains difficult as businesses grow
Finding customers is a constant challenge for Thai SMEs. Growth does not make the need to identify new customers go away. In the survey, 58.5% said finding customers was the number one challenge when they started their businesses.
That challenge continues today. Half of the Thai SMEs surveyed (50.1%) said they still struggle to generate more sales, while 46.2% find it hard to attract new customers. Rising operating costs (36.2%) and competition (35.2%) add more business pressure.
The wider economy makes growth even harder. More than half of the survey respondents (52.8%) named economic uncertainty as a serious threat to growth. Strong competition followed at 47.7%.
AI adoption is growing, but the economy matters more
Many Thai SMEs already use artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The survey found that 21.6% use them extensively, while 36.5% use them from time to time. A further 20.6% plan to start using AI soon.
Their most common uses for AI tools include data analysis (39.8%) and content creation (37.5%). The biggest barriers to adopting AI are concerns about accuracy (37.3%) and a lack of knowledge about how to use it (32.9%).
Over the next three years, more Thai SMEs expect the economy to affect their businesses than AI. Economic conditions ranked first, cited by 52.1% of respondents. Consumer spending followed at 41.8%, then competition at 38.6%. By comparison, 24.4% cited AI as affecting their businesses.
What the survey findings mean for Thai SMEs
“Being seen and trusted online used to require a large budget, which is what these businesses say they do not have. That is changing. More people now ask AI answer engines such as ChatGPT and Claude which business they should choose. With a well-targeted GEO campaign, even a small Thai business can appear in those answers without spending heavily on promotion,” concluded Khun Seri.
