Trends in small business to look out for in 2021

‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’

This adage stands true for everyone in every situation and the current times bear a testament to the same, and now that this year is going to end soon, it’s a good idea to amp up your game for 2021. With the Pandemic hitting people, businesses small and large alike and economies in general, those who have are far-sighted and have a better thought of strategy to work upon, shall move ahead in the race, especially when the competition is fierce. By knowing the latest trends in businesses, you not only are aware of your competitor’s next step but are also in a position to grow sales, operate effectively, reduce costs, market on the target, offer diligent customer support and finally build a loyal customer chain.

So let’s look at some of the trends which you shall look out for in the upcoming year

1. E-Commerce boom is here to stay and dominate – As per a report from Statista , global e-commerce shall touch a staggering figure of $5 trillion, within the next four years. Unsurprisingly, many big and small retailers operating from a brick-and-mortar store, are either diverging to operate online as well or have shut their stores and moved totally online. Therefore, it is of prime importance to realize the untapped and diverse importance of social media, apart from traditional importance of marketing, it can also help your business gain more sales, create new customers online and build relationship with them, develop new product lines, ship orders efficiently by maintaining a proper supply chain, etc.

source: https://www.statista.com/chart/14011/e-commerce-share-of-total-retail-sales/

2. The rising power of Voice controlled devices – Who hasn’t heard or doesn’t know about Voice command devices like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home or Siri by Apple? Not only heard, today because of the convenience offered by these devices, they are present in majority of the households across States and are hugely popular. As per a report from Gartner , almost a third of the web searching shall be voice command activated this year. Isn’t it convenient to give voice commands and initiate a meeting while driving or maybe place a food order while picking up groceries late at night?

 This is undoubtedly an opportunity in waiting to be tapped by small businesses, which should have a ‘voice’ presence on their social media channels and website, let’s agree, ‘make hay when the sun shines’, since the field is picking up, it can give you a competitive edge amongst your competitors and Zivanta Marketing’s expert team, can exactly help you do that.

3. Tap into the boundless opportunities of remote working ­­- With the strike of the pandemic, many countries went into lockdown, thus forcing employers across the sectors to enable working processes from the perspective of the employees; spotlight was again on the topic of giving access to employees to work from home and it turned out to be successful. As a small business or organization, where you are looking to save up costs, cutting expenses on a landed property and other miscellaneous services like electricity, internet, maintenance, etc. can save major overhead expenses for you. Remote working, shall not only give your employees the freedom to work as per their convenience but also be more productive; nowadays having virtual meetings, internal apps, creating virtual check-lists etc. can be more impactful and give you the desired results in less cost, but it’s always a good idea to know before-hand the expected challenges, resultant benefits, and solutions of remote working.

4. Spotlight on Consumer reviews- The importance of relying on user reviews prior to making a purchase decision, be it a fridge or a mattress has gained tremendous importance these days, factors like cost, after-sales support etc. do play a major part but so do positive reviews which motivate the buyer and gives them an inner sense of confidence before spending their hard-earned money on a product or service. Having a collective positive audience voice on the net empowers the decision making rationale of the future buyer, i.e. if there’s a product even from a reputed company which has bad or no reviews won’t inspire much confidence but the same product having plenty of positive reviews can make the buyer sure of their decision and has more appeal to the people, at large. Since small businesses or not-for-profits don’t usually have deep financial grounding, therefore, when the actual users or audience become your brand ambassadors online, your business gains authenticity and trust, hence bringing in, the desired leads for you.

5. Growing importance of Gig economy- According to Gallup, around 36% of the workers in USA are in the gig economy, hence showing an upward trend in the rise of remote workers. This is so, because apart from earning better, it gives a sense of ownership to a person and enjoying flexibility at the same time.

As a small business, it can work perfectly for you where you won’t have to spend time and financial resources on hiring permanent employees, rather work out a convenient schedule for yourself and the gig employee to work temporarily, where they can work remotely instead of, at a permanent office.

These are some of the suggestions which can help you stay ahead in the race, as it is still sometime for 2020 to get over, thus, enabling you to use this period in the meantime to effectively strategize and build a knock-out plan.