Notable Business Trends of 2016

Several weeks into the New Year, we are taking a look at some of the most important trends for businesses to take advantage of.  Our world is more interconnected than ever before, requiring businesses to take a more active role in engaging customers and implementing new technologies.  Although entrepreneurs have a lot on their minds when they pause to look ahead at 2016, here are four trends everyone can get behind.

Selling with Social Media

The importance of social media is increasing year over year as consumers and businesses continue engaging directly with one another.  Everyone knows about Facebook and Twitter, but less established companies like Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Periscope are big opportunities to create a unique experience for your customers.  It is important to note that 79% of salespeople who use social media outsell those who don’t, 72% of B2B buyers used social media to research their purchase decisions, and 53% of buyers said they listen to peer recommendations before making a purchase.  However, social media requires different marketing strategies that can be unfamiliar to some entrepreneurs.  The key promotion strategy is now…

Content Marketing

Content Marketing focuses on creating and curating content that a customer will consider as a valuable source of information.  Traditional publicity was focused on capturing a customer’s attention to present an image or story (Ads, Posters, commercials) but suffered from several flaws:  low engagement rates, perception as an interruption, and a broad, expensive reach.  Content marketing allows you to more deeply engage with your customer and develop a relationship based on providing value.  This value comes in many forms, but focuses on providing impartial information about a product/service so as to educate customers and help them make an informed choice without needing to go to a third-party.  This information can be distributed through video, image, blog, and viral content, ideally using social media.

Expansion of Mobile Technology

Now where are social media and content marketing king?  Mobile platforms.  Mobile technology will see continued investment and expansion as smartphone market share increases, new technology is introduced into the ecosystem, and the Internet of Things develops.  Engaging with customers through their devices is an important means of distributing useful information and improving customer experience.  Small businesses are in an ideal position to take advantage of this change, as enterprise technology is no longer prohibitively expensive.  Take new online payment options such as Square, Stripe, and Apple/Google Pay for example.  They are easily implementable and relatively cheap alternatives to traditional payment systems that are constantly innovating.

Data Driven Decision Making

Analytics—always an important part of business—is dramatically increasing in power as your ability to access data increases.  Part of this is due to mobile and cloud technology’s dominance, allowing businesses to access real-time information on their customer’s activities.  How you analyze your data will determine how effectively you spend capital and provide key insights into all the processes of your company.  But fear not, although data analysis can be esoteric, several companies (such as Palantir) are popping up that can help you glean insight from all those numbers.

Businesses face a lot of challenges in 2016, but have more tools then ever before to meet and surpass their obstacles.  By incorporating new trends and technology into your business strategy, take advantage of a new level of control over your customers and your company.