The start of a new decade offers plenty of opportunities to take a hard look at your business and decide if you’re headed down the right path. Staying current with buying trends is one way to ensure you’re doing all you can to make it easy for customers to do business with you. For example, according to an Inc. article, “a customer in 2020 is likely to be someone who uses mobile devices, orders many products online is environmentally aware, enjoys social media and reads customer reviews before making decisions.”
With that in mind, consider doing the following things to stay current with today’s small business trends:
Zero in on your company values and purpose
Today’s consumers care about more than the products and services you offer — they’re interested in what your company stands for. This is especially true for younger generations, millennials, and Gen Z, who may seek to learn your company’s values and purpose before even looking at what you have to offer.
How can you demonstrate this? A good start is making it clear on your website — through things like a mission or values statement. If you make a product, show your support for the environment by how you package it or what you put into it. If you offer a service, highlight the ways you give back to the community.
Be aware your success is reflected by your customers’ experience
There is nowhere to hide anymore when it comes to how customers interact with your business. Nowadays, everyone is either a fan or a critic — and not shy about letting the world know what they think.
With online reviews being omnipresent, what your customers say about you may make or break your business. Knowing that reality, you should take the opportunity to use this trend to your advantage — encouraging customers to share their experiences on business listing sites such as Yelp and Google Reviews.
Go mobile
Look around — screens are everywhere. No matter where you are, people are on their phones, and most of them would feel absolutely lost without them. This trend is not going away, so you need to get on board as a business owner.
There are many ways to tap into people’s use of mobile devices. You can get attention from potential customers by using marketing tactics such as geotargeting, SMS, or text message marketing; accept mobile payments, or even create an app for your business.
Leverage e-commerce
The “cousin” to going mobile, e-commerce is another trend that seems to be here to stay. Many years ago, the Yellow Pages encouraged people to “let their fingers do the walking” when they were seeking a phone number. Today, more and more people are using their fingers on their keyboards to buy just about anything — even big-ticket items like cars.
What’s the moral of this story for you as a business owner? If you’re selling products, make sure they can easily be sold online. Whether your business is fully online, or you offer online as an option to supplement a brick and mortar presence, just do it.
Make the most of social media
Social media has come a long way; no longer is its main claim to fame the fact that people use it to share important and not-so-important moments from their lives. It’s now a great way to interact with current and prospective customers, and help build your business.
With social media’s ongoing algorithm changes, however, it’s becoming more difficult to get an audience’s attention online. Stories and live streaming are the latest trends for connecting with people in a spontaneous and authentic manner; consider using these tactics on Facebook and Instagram.
If Clear Skies Capital can help you address any 2020 business trends, don’t hesitate to contact us. Not having access to capital shouldn’t be the reason you struggle. We’ve worked with many business owners, so we’d love to share our expertise while investigating financing alternatives with you. Discover how much you qualify for at http://clearskiescapital.com/apply/.