Welcome to the new year! Fingers crossed this one comes with ample breathing room and a better sense of normalcy.
If you’re anxious about the strategies you’re whittling into shape to gain a steadier footing in 2021, just know that probably every business is equally so. Balance that anxiety with a firm grasp of the small business trends that are expected this year and a corresponding well-considered, well-executed adoption of these trends.
Here are the top 5 trends you need to consider when developing your marketing and overall business strategy for 2021:
1. The shift to remote work
COVID-19 has sped up the rise of remote work. This means that 2021 will be seeing an increase in the number of business processes being performed by team members working remotely.
For small businesses who outsource, their outsourcing company will most likely be adopting remote work, either fully or partly. To prevent productivity and quality issues, update your process flow and communication system, or establish a new communication system. Embrace cloud storage, video conferencing technology, recording transcripts, internet services, etc., to ensure productive collaboration.
2. Increased digitization
To accommodate customers and improve user experience, companies will have to go online—not just to offer customers a digital option but, more importantly, because digital is practically the way to do business today. Customers expect businesses, even small ones, to have an online presence, and to be responsive—able to interact with customers not just through their websites but also through their social media channels (i.e., the most optimal channels for their specific type of business).
Take, for example, the Bay Area’s Vitality Bowls and their effort to accommodate and engage with their customers:
3. Profitability over growth
With 2020’s revenue losses and budget cuts still fresh in the minds of the major decision-makers of businesses, it’s safe to say 2021 will be a year of conservative moves. This would mean that projects and investments with immediate ROIs would be prioritized over those that may take a while to generate a higher ROI.
Companies will also be keen to have lesser offerings and to prioritize services or products that will generate maximum revenue.
4. Support for small, local businesses
The struggle of many local businesses to avoid closing their doors in 2020 has further redirected the focus of consumers, resulting in their current preference to buy from small businesses than from their bigger counterparts. We say further because even earlier in 2020, in a survey of more than 200 American adults done by Salesforce, it became apparent that most consumers trust small businesses more and want the “personalized experience, unique products or services and a sense of familiarity” that small businesses are in a better position to provide.
5. Empathy
Now more than ever, businesses have to offer more than just quality products and services. That is, they have to humanize their brand and show compassion and empathy. Otherwise, it will be hard to resonate with both customers and prospects. In turn, it will hard to gain their trust, and there will be no brand loyalty.
If you’re outsourcing, that compassion and empathy should also extend to your outsourcing company, even as you strive to keep them as focused as possible on their deliverables
Always keep in mind: In a time when physical distance needs to be imposed, connections despite physical distance are more valuable.
It’s a new year, and it’s time to be reinvigorated. Make sure your modified approach to 2021 is both empathetic and prudent. If outsourcing is part of your strategy, be sure to choose a team that understands your goals and the necessary steps and attitude to achieve them.
Contact Purple Cow today, see if we’re a good fit for you.
