With the new year right around the corner, we encourage you to take a step out of your comfort zone and look into some new small business trends that you can implement into your establishment. As a small business owner, trial and error can be a part of the process. With 2019 upon us in a few short weeks, incorporating the latest strategies for your small business will re-align your goals and maybe even exceed them.
In today’s blog, we’ll be going over what’s trending for your small business and the strategies that you can implement. With these small business trends, you can take the necessary steps for your establishment to flourish and grow in the new year. For more information about merchant services or trends, take the time to contact Journey Business Solutions. We serve the Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, and Beaumont.
Five Trends To Look Out For
As we begin to edge closer to 2019, we put together some trends that you should look out for. What’s great about starting the new year is that you can take the time to revamp, rethink, and create new strategies that will make your small business better. While you make New Year’s resolutions for yourself, take the time to do it for your business as well. With these five trends you can change your business for the better. From learning about cybersecurity to marketing toward Millennials, you’ll gain the upper hand from your competition.
Millennials Ruling The Market
Millenials are an up and coming target market that seems to be taking over everything and it might be for the better. While the millennials begin to dominate the consumer market, they are also shifting it toward engaging with different ways to market. Millennials tend to look at the world differently because of growing up with digital content. They are notoriously very active as consumers as well. When it comes to marketing for millenials, you’ll need to shift to social media and other tactics to make the content, products, and services, engaging. Pushing for more experiential sales and marketing, millennials are searching for more of a connection with their preferred brands, which is leading us toward value-based selling. When it comes to owning a small business, the more honest and transparent you are, the more millennials will flock to you.
Financial Elements
Another trend to check out are the financial elements at your small business. Banking is making a shift to be easier for people. Instead of brick-and-mortar banks, the trend seems to be one of the technological first-mindset. This means that your phone and wallet are slowly merging. We’re already seeing this with Apple Pay where you can sync your credit cards to your phone. This form of payment is shifting even more and it’s said that at least two billion users will be carrying their bank or wallet on their phone by 2020. While there are pros and cons, managing bank accounts via the phone are slowly on the rise, which means items like POS system can be a huge asset in the future of your small business.
Micro-Influencers
One industry that is on the rise is micro-influencers. Influencers are people who are on Instagram who inspire others in certain areas. Some examples include fashion, fitness, travel, and many other niche industries people show interest in. Micro-influencers are people in a small scale who have less than 100k followers. Micro-influencers can be effective for small businesses because they are easy to relate to and people feel connected to them. As we mentioned above, honesty and transparency draws millenials in and when you have a micro-influencer showing an attainable lifestyle to others, then your products, services, or your content will be much more trustworthy. Additionally, you can sponsor micro-influencer, which can help to put you on the map.
The Importance Of Marketing
Another trend you should do is marketing. Marketing and advertising are beneficial in any industry because it shows your product or your services. What’s important in today’s society is to make it personalized to relate better to being. Marketing is becoming a more personalized industry because it allows you to actually see yourself owning something or doing something because it’s attainable. Millenials are what is really transforming the marketing world because they expect a more personalized touch, which is what helps to create a trusting image. If you’re using generic campaigns, making impersonal calls, or using stock images, then it can take away from the personalized touch of your small business. People enjoy that personal touch and small businesses already have a leg up because they are seen as trusting.
The Shift In Cybersecurity
Lastly, and we touched on this briefly in financing, is cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is so important, especially with so many people moving toward with online banking, using credit cards, and putting their information on their phones. With the shift in cybersecurity, it’s vital that your small business takes the proper precautions to ensure that your customers’ information isn’t hacked. Cybersecurity will continue to grow more complex because of data breaches that target business such as Target, Facebook, Sony, Twitter, Uber, and so many others.
For more information about small business trends, continue reading our blog.