Small Business Week is Here

It has arrived… Small Business Week, one of our top weeks of the year, where we have the opportunity to celebrate with 65% of our clients, who are entrepreneur-owners of their own small-sized businesses. They are in the stellar company of 32,5 million small businesses in the USA alone.

Leaders who not only encourage but inspire and educate other entrepreneurs to follow in their footsteps, as shown in the 70% of all small businesses owned and operated by a single person. Visionaries who have broken the 9-5 barrier to follow their hearts and pursue their own dreams. Inspired by their attitude, 29% of all small business owners say they started their own business just to be their own boss.

Small businesses play such a vital and undeniable role in our economy that not only should their contribution be celebrated each day, but national efforts should be increased to cultivate the ‘small business mentality. In celebrating Small Business Week, we are listing the latest top trends in 2022 to keep an eye on that offer small businesses ample opportunities for growth and expansion:

• Shifting towards eCommerce
• Swift and improved outsourced marketing
• Mobile marketing escalation
• Establishing an online community
• Being eco-friendly and socially responsible
• Adapting to your customers
• Protecting what is private
• Video will continue to grow
• Rise of hybrid and remote work.

1. Shifting Towards eCommerce

E-commerce is the source for new, small business options. Recent years have seen tangible stores packing up their premises and re-launching themselves online. The benefit of eCommerce is that products and services can be sourced anywhere nationally, or even internationally, on an ‘as and when needed’ basis. Whether eCommerce is a primary, a secondary source of revenue, or just an add-on to an existing offered service, an online store can improve the efficiency of a small business operations. In the following year, data-driven insights used to monitor performance will accelerate.

2. Swift and Improved Outsourced Marketing

Recent years have seen marketing become increasingly complex and personalized, resulting in marketing strategies and activities adapting to become more diverse and multifaceted. Businesses often face the dilemma of smaller marketing in-house teams, unable to cope with the constant changes and at a loss in managing the perpetual change needed to be effective. The solution is to harness external expertise by outsourcing marketing activities.

By outsourcing their marketing, small businesses get immediate access to highly qualified talent while at the same time removing a significant business function from their workflow. Marketing outsourcing also enables businesses to acquire specialized capabilities while simultaneously eliminating substantial workload from their operations. Now companies can concentrate on the core functions of their operations. Leaving the marketing activities to the professionals will give you the freedom to do what you do best. In the meantime, your outsourced experts can bring in new clients and build relationships with them while growing your business.

3. Mobile Marketing Escalation

Mobile marketing is one of the fastest-growing small business trends. It allows businesses to focus their marketing and advertising efforts on ‘users-on-the-go’ and their unique challenges using smart technology devices.
Smart technology is growing, with an estimated five billion smartphone users worldwide. As this market expands, the opportunity for mobile marketing is developing accordingly. With mobile technology aiding society, offering a myriad of daily activities to be run simultaneously, such as booking appointments and buying groceries online, small businesses need to become visionary and partner with other mobile apps to ensure longevity.

Small businesses that create their own mobile apps are on the rise as they open new channels for customer connection. We see this as an opportunity to engage with clients differently, e.g., by sending messages containing the latest product specials or easy links to use for purchasing.

4. Establishing an Online Community

Establishing and growing your online community can birth invaluable associations to boost your brand and strengthen your mark in the digital business world.
Building a community takes consistent time and effort and can be done by sharing content that demonstrates expert knowledge and experience by using multimedia tools that are on the rise, such as:

• Webinars (classes, workshops, or presentations presented professionally online)
• Vlogs
• Live streaming
• Video Q&A sessions
• Online courses
• Blogs, and more.

05. Being Eco-friendly and Socially Responsible

The younger generation of consumers calls on businesses to be accountable for social and environmental issues. No longer can social responsibility be excused; it should take its rightful place as the backbone of every business. Businesses can be empowered to participate by changing their work culture into one that embodies social responsibility. Two things small businesses can do to maximize their impact are:

• Support a cause and champion an environmental cautions charity
• Include sustainability in their daily business operations, for example, by minimizing packing waste, challenging social inequalities, or championing diversity in the workplace.

Just doing it is not enough; small businesses should also let the world know by including social responsibility in their bold mission statement and promoting their strategies to their customer base on multiple levels.

6. Adapting to Your Customers

In 2022 knowing who your customers are and what they need will be vitally important. By understanding customers’ behavior and establishing purchasing patterns, you will be better positioned to market your product, business, or brand. Customers no longer have the time or the energy to be overwhelmed by countless options; they want and expect service crafted to their preferences and will give precedence to businesses offering a personal touch.

Personalized customer service is not just about tailoring your product but the entire user experience you offer around the customer’s unique requirements. Statistics show that loyal customers are more likely to increase their purchases by 23%; offering customized service can increase existing customer loyalty behavior and help establish new customer relationships.

7. Protecting What is Private!

A key trend is a concern for privacy. Small businesses need to work harder to comply with the changing Privacy Regulations. Customers expect their personal information to be protected, in whichever form they entrust it to corporations.
Brands will either have to comply or be left by the wayside, passed by competitors catering to customer needs.

8. Video Marketing Will Continue to Grow

The use of video in marketing has grown exponentially, providing far more sensory stimulation than any other marketing channel. Small businesses are not investing a lot in video marketing, and historically it has been utilized chiefly only by large organizations. However, it is time for small businesses to tap into the video marketing trend. A 2021 report by Wyzowl has found that 94% of marketers have stated that video media has assisted in increasing user understanding of their product or service, and 78% say that video media has directly increased their sales.

9. Rise of Hybrid and Remote Work

Hybrid and remote work is here to stay. Small businesses with a limited marketing capacity can find hiring outsourced marketing support instrumental and essential in their growth. The fine line between success and failure lies in alignment, and a partnership with a proven and trusted international marketing specialist can make all the difference.

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Every business is different, but one thing that all have in common is the need for good marketing to win new clients, sell more & grow. Marketing activities take knowledge, time, effort, and consistency, so what if we told you that you could have a team of people taking care of your marketing so that you can just focus on what you do best – run your business?

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BBSA – Anna Stella, Marketing Expert & CEO