What are the top small business trends for 2019?
With any starting business, you may be concerned as to where to begin. From buying insurance to locating the best property to house your company, you may be more concerned with how to begin rather than studying what could make your business grow in 2019. Here are some of the top small business trends that could help you expand in the future.
Keeping up with a new audience
As 2019 moves into play, most of your target audience for your marketing campaigns will be a millennial crowd. A millennial audience will still be quite young, thus may be anxious about taking risks about a business. Thus, it is essential that your marketing towards them be open and honest in regards to what they can expect from engaging with your company and product.
Expect a rise in digital marketing, including on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. By 2020, it is even expected that by marketing towards Millennials, businesses will grow around $1.4 trillion. Thus, it is essential that your business is willing to connect with clients, even if this may be seen as pushy online. Be sure to answer any questions through tweets, or even to adopt an online persona that makes clients interested, such as the persona that the company “Wendys” has adopted in order to amuse its audience and push its brand forward.
Communication is key
In order to continue connecting with customers, it is important to establish the best means of a client getting in contact. 2019 will see the rise in online connectivity continue, including through instant messaging and chats, but also video calls and live streams. Research has shown that 80% of audiences do find it more convenient to watch videos rather than to read long blogs. Live streams give the opportunity for potential customers to receive instant responses to their questions, and they can even replay the video to remind themselves of the advice they have received.
However, if video calling is not your style, there is now the opportunity for more interactive calling by being able to buy memorable numbers that can be used for helplines and voicemails. Phone companies, like Planet Numbers, can provide your business with VOIP, a virtual assistant to answer unanswered calls and even a cheap international call service/number to allow you to keep in contact with your clients, even if you decide to expand your business abroad.
Keeping Personal Data Private
Security has become a hot topic in 2018, especially with the recent Data Protection Act, thus it is essential that a client’s personal data be kept fully secure, or else your company may not be deemed trustworthy, leading to a decline in customer loyalty. Larger companies, like Facebook, have been hacked for personal data, thus consumer awareness is at an all-time high. As a small business, try to keep focused on reversing the data structure, for instance by keeping your personal information on your phone, as this implies that you are always in control of your data.
