The past few years have seen significant changes in the way companies do business. Challenges such as economic downturns, decreasing revenues, and regulatory uncertainty have sparked fear among many. At the same time, the explosion of social media and smart phones have offered tremendous new opportunities.
For better or for worse, times are changing, and so is the business landscape. By definition, small businesses generally have fewer resources, financial or otherwise, at their disposable to adjust quickly or to stand firm in the face of rapid market fluctuations. Yet recognizing trends early and responding accordingly can mean the difference between success and failure for many small businesses.
2011 trends in marketing: It’s all about who you know
Social media marketing continues to evolve. The explosion of the social web with sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have changed the face of marketing. Social media provides a great way to establish company brands among large numbers of prospective customers that might not be reached otherwise. However, social media marketing strategies should be thoughtfully planned and carefully executed.
Manage your online presence. The good news about social media marketing is that delighted customers have a fast and easy way to spread the word about a great company, product, or service. The bad news is that disgruntled customers can share their displeasure just as quickly.
The importance of content will increase as a marketing tool. The days of relying on press releases to get the word out about a company are long gone. The internet provides countless opportunities to share information. Companies will use corporate blogs, Facebook pages, Linkedin profiles, tweets, and countless other avenues to let prospective customers know what they’re up to.
Location-based advertising is growing. Google, Facebook, and others are incorporating location-based parameters in their search methodologies in order to offer location-based advertising to customized ads for viewers based on where they are located.
Online research continues to increase. Consumers are increasingly doing online research prior to purchasing goods and services. These early search efforts are focused on gathering information, forming relationships, and comparing prices to determine the best value.
The explosion in mobile marketing continues. The success of the iPhone, Android, and other smart phones will result in more and more mobile advertising opportunities, many of which will be location-based.
SEO will become more important and more complex. The continuing rise in the sheer volume of pages on the Web, coupled with changes in the way people find them, will create challenges for the big search engines like Google and Bing. This is further complicated by the rise in mobile search apps based on the user’s specific location at the time of the search. The rules for effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are likely to evolve quite a bit.
Networked referral automation will grow. As searches become more social, search engines are beginning to tell consumers who in their network has purchased the same product they’re considering or who just wrote about a topic they’re researching.
Marketing analytics will be more sophisticated. With so many online marketing channels (web sites, blogs, social media channels, banner ads, video, search engines, mobile apps, etc.) it is increasingly difficult to gather, tabulate, analyze and understand the effectiveness of a company’s online marketing strategy. Google and other major players will be working to find more comprehensive, and hopefully user-friendly ways to analyze the mountains of data that are being generated.
Managed content will gain popularity. While there is a tremendous amount of meaningful and useful information available online, there is also a lot of junk. As consumers grow more and more frustrated with the avalanche of information available to them, packaged and managed content from trusted sources will become more valuable.
2011 trends in technology: Your head should be in the clouds
More spending on websites. A recent survey reported that 54% of respondents’ businesses currently have websites, but most of them are essentially online brochures, offering general information. Less than half of these websites incorporate customer service capabilities. Moving forward, companies will be spending more on websites, making them more useful resources for their existing and prospective customers. Upgrades will include added functionality for e-commerce, social media integration, and customer service.
Increased focus on e-commerce. Many small businesses have been slow to focus on e-commerce, opting instead to use their websites to market their businesses, but then using old-school approaches to closing the deal and delivering service. However, e-commerce has proven to be beneficial to many small businesses because offering products and services online can expand a customer base exponentially.
Increased use of cloud computing. Using web-based and/or mobile applications, cloud computing is becoming more and more popular among businesses of all sizes. By relying on third-party sources for many routine and specialized functions, businesses benefit by reducing or eliminating the hassles of purchasing and maintaining software, having 24/7 technical support, facilitating real-time communication and collaboration from multiple locations, and much more.
Online privacy concerns continue to mount. Online identify theft and computer hacking have grown in frequency and impact in recent years. Unfortunately, this trend is likely to continue, resulting in continued privacy concerns on the part of internet users.
Now that you know what's coming, there are things you can do to prepare your business for success in 2011.
Sources:
5 Predictions for Small Business in 2011, Mashable/Business, retrieved on December 24, 2010.
6 Predictions for Digital Advertising in 2011, Mashable, retrieved on December 24, 2010.
2011 Small Business Forecast-o-rama - 10 Predictions and Inspirations, Entrepreneur.com Daily Dose, retrieved on December 24, 2010.
2011 Predictions: Online Marketing Trends, Ineedhits.com, retrieved on December 24, 2010.
3 Social Media Predictions for Small Business, Infusionsoft, retrieved on December 24, 2010.
5 Trends that Will Shape Small Business in 2011, OpenForum.com, retrieved on December 24, 2010.
The Disrupters: Forces Driving Change in 2011, Entrepreneur, retrieved on December 24, 2010.
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