As the New Year approaches, many small and medium-sized businesses are looking forward to the trends that will impact their business. With continued advancements in technology and social values, business owners will have to adjust the way they manage their company if they want to stay competitive.
Here are the top 5 trends that will impact your business in 2016:
1. Digital And Online Marketing
As technology continues to advance and play a crucial role in our daily living and communicating, the need to incorporate these changes into how a business is run will dominate 2016. Creating a business app, social media sites and video ads will play an even bigger role in advertising and connecting with customers in the New Year.
2. Building Relationships With Customers
At a time when technology dominates how we communicate with other people, the need to build a strong relationship has become more important than ever before. Customers do not want to be just another transaction. They want to feel more connected to the business. Customers will come back to businesses that treat them as an individual and not as a robot.
3. Provide Engaging Content
Website blogs, newsletters and articles on social media sites will continue to play a crucial role in relationship building with customers. In an age of information overload, customers do not want to look for information. Providing regular, interesting and valuable information on your website blog or through weekly or monthly online newsletters will go a long way in attracting and retaining customers.
4. Increasing Cyber Security Is A Must
It is predicted that cyber attacks on businesses and individuals will rise significantly in 2016. These attacks can have a very debilitating effect on a business. Cyber security is essential for keeping your information safe and out of the wrong hands.
There are 3 major reasons for this increased threat on businesses. First and foremost, society has become very 'cloud' focused. Everything nowadays is automatically saved on the cloud. With this trend towards cloud saving growing, knock off cloud companies will also grow which will significantly increase the risk of a cyber attacks and breaches for many businesses.
Secondly, privacy laws and policies around the world continue to change with the changing technology. These changes will have serious implications on businesses, especially when it comes to financial and personal data. To build and maintain open communications with customers, businesses will need to be transparent in all of their dealings and transactions.
Cyber attacks have become a major concern for small and medium-sized businesses. This threat has become a very widespread problem in Australia and is now migrating throughout the U.S. and Europe. Software that specifically targets smaller businesses is becoming more popular and easier to access. To keep your information, as well as your customer's and employee's personal information safe from all cyber attacks, it is essential to keep up-to-date with your cyber security and the latest cyber threats to your business.
5. Value Based Services
People today continue to be more consciously aware of their responsibility towards nature, the environment and social justice. This growing trend in social values means that we as a society are also holding businesses more accountable for their actions and implications on the environment and their communities. To build positive, long term relationships with customers, companies will have to openly demonstrate how they are helping the planet.
In 2016, we will see a noticeable shift in the way businesses operate. Evolving technology products and practices, as well as environmental and social trends will play paramount roles in the growth and development of small to medium-sized businesses.