The State of Trade Marketing in South Africa 2026.

The first national survey of how South African tradesmen actually win work: what they spend, what they charge for, how fast they reply, and what it costs them when they do not.

Respondents
Fieldwork open
Fieldwork
January 2026
Coverage
South Africa
Publishing
8 January 2027
Take the survey

Fieldwork in progress

What this research will answer.

The findings are published here, at this address, the moment fieldwork closes. Nothing is behind a form. If you are working on a story and need a figure before then, email hello@kenosonic.co.za.

01 / About You

  • What is your main trade?
  • How long have you been trading?
  • Just you, or do you have a team?
  • Which province are you based in?

02 / Your Work

  • Where does most of your work come from?
  • Lead directories like Kandua and Snupit: worth the money, or a waste?
  • If you have a website, how many actual, paying jobs did it generate for you last month?
  • Have you claimed your Google Business Profile?

03 / Spend

  • Roughly how much do you spend on marketing per month?
  • Who handles your marketing?
  • Which of these do you use?
  • How do you prefer customers to pay you for a completed job?
  • Have you ever used AI (ChatGPT or similar) to write a quote, an advert or a reply to a customer?

04 / Performance

  • How many Google reviews do you have?
  • When an enquiry comes in, how fast do you usually reply?
  • Be honest: how often do you lose a quoted job simply because another contractor replied faster?
  • Have you ever finished a job and never been paid for it?

05 / Honest

  • If you spent R1,000 on marketing or directories last month, do you know exactly how many jobs it brought in?
  • What is squeezing your profit margins the hardest right now in 2026?
  • Would you tell your own child to go into the trade?
  • What is your single biggest frustration with getting new customers?
  • Honestly: rather do a hard day's physical work, or spend an hour posting on social media?

Methodology

Read this before quoting a number.

Fieldwork runs online through 2026. Every respondent is a working South African tradesman answering anonymously, recruited through trade groups, supplier networks and word of mouth rather than a commercial panel. Answers are self-reported and the sample is self-selected, so the results describe the tradesmen who took part rather than a statistically weighted picture of the whole industry. Sample size and fieldwork dates are published alongside every figure.

Use these numbers. We only ask for a link.

Every figure on this page is free to reproduce, including the charts, for editorial and commercial use alike. The one condition is attribution: name Keno Sonic Interactive and link to this page so your readers can check the methodology for themselves.

Need a breakdown we have not published, a figure for a specific province or trade, or an interview? Ask hello@kenosonic.co.za and we will pull it from the raw responses.

Citation

Keno Sonic Interactive, "The State of Trade Marketing in South Africa 2026.", https://www.kenosonic.co.za/research/state-of-trade-marketing-2026.

Credit for your CMS

<p>Source: <a href="https://www.kenosonic.co.za/research/state-of-trade-marketing-2026">The State of Trade Marketing in South Africa 2026.</a>, Keno Sonic Interactive.</p>

Have your say

The next set of numbers is still being written.

This research is only as good as the tradesmen who answer it. It takes about four minutes, it is anonymous, and everyone who finishes gets the report.

Take the survey

Newsletter

Get our latest articles

Web and marketing tips for South African businesses, straight to your inbox. No spam, unsubscribe any time.