8 small business trends for 2020

Here are eight trends to consider to help you boost your business in this new decade.

Trend 1: Personalise the customer service experience

This is a trend that is growing in pace. With new technologies being developed to help personalise the experience a customer has on your website. It has become something someone expects from a brand. I

f you sell items online, you could create a suggestion box under what the customer is viewing to show other products that are similar to what the customer is looking at.

Trend 2: Make videos

Do you have a smartphone and a social media account? Then you should be making videos.

It is important to become comfortable with making videos as customers are more comfortable watching videos than reading lots of text. You can use video to show how-to films or you can use live video to do a Q&A session with some of your fans.

Many people like to look at stories on social media rather than newsfeeds. So it is important to create stories of authentic moments in your day to post on your social media platform of choice.

Trend 3: Be conscious of the environment

With the Amazon burning and islands of plastic waste being found in the oceans, people are becoming more environmentally conscious. It is important to consider ways to offer your product in an environmentally sustainable way. If you need to offer straws, try to use paper or pasta straws.

Trend 4: Work remotely and the gig economy

Many employees prefer to work remotely if the business doesn’t need them to be in the confines of an office.

For a small business, this could be ideal as you would have employees but not have to pay for office space for the employees. Another benefit is the advent of the gig economy. This enables SMEs to hire the best talent to work on a project once off.

The gig economy is a labour market of freelance workers who get paid for each job they do rather than being paid a monthly salary. They are flexible and only work for the duration of the project or gig. They find their work through apps and websites which connect the freelancer with people who need the work done.

Trend 5: Use your voice

Siri and Alexa have been making strides with people being able to search for information using their voice.

To harness this trend you should ensure your copy on your website is more conversational. You should also create an FAQ page that answers questions which people would potentially ask about your product. This will help to improve SEO for voice searches.

Trend 6: Be mobile-first

With many people growing up with technology in their back pocket. Your business must think about how to be mobile-first. You can also try to use mobile apps to improve communication within your business between employees.

You should ensure your website can work on a mobile device.

Trend 7: Get reviews from users

Social proof is critical to gain trust with people in your market. If you have testimonials or reviews written by your customers, then you have gold. This will help to increase people’s trust in your offering. It would even be better if their testimonials are in video format.

Trend 8: Use AI to improve your business

Many people are scared that AI (artificial intelligence) will take over their jobs but AI needs to be seen as an assistant for you to do your job better. It is important that in high-stress areas of your business a person is available to answer your customer’s questions. If you have an AI give robotic answers to someone’s genuine concerns, it could leave a black mark against your brand. If your flight has been cancelled. You can use AI to make sure that the person speaks to someone in the right department in your airline company so that their problem can be solved efficiently.

By implementing these trends into your business you will be well on your way to becoming the leader in your pack.