No matter how big your business is, if you want to stay ahead of your competition then you need to stay on top and evolve with the ever changing landscape of your industry. The only way to do this is through constantly keeping tabs on the latest trends that come around every so often. Small business marketing trends are important for those companies that don’t have as many resources because they allow them to stay ahead without overspending. If they are able to be innovative then marketing costs will be able to be kept in budget. Here are some of the marketing trends SMEs need to look out for:
More Data Collecting
It’s 2018 and it is now easier and more important than ever to collect data. But the data that we are collecting needs to be relevant to our business otherwise it is just a waste of time. It doesn’t matter whether you are an online business or not, small businesses need to collect data just as much as big companies do.
Learning about your customers through collecting data – learning where they live, who they are and what they need – will help you tailor your business in order to make your resources more effective.
Small Business Marketing Trends: Micro-Marketing
There is no two ways about it: marketing is getting increasingly expensive. It also is showing no signs of slowing down. Smaller businesses in particular are having to learn to become smarter and more targeted with their marketing techniques. Identifying customers unique needs will help companies be more successful. More of a shift in focus will be seen in targeting specific audiences rather than on a general scale.
The Use of Livestreaming
Video on social media is becoming massive. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and more now support the livestreaming of video content. It generates buzz in the public and you will see more interactions on videos than any other content on social media. This will become a huge part of companies marketing strategies as they try to get ahead of the competition.
Livestreaming also allows for further customer interaction. Customer questions and enquiries can be answered in real time with a personal touch to make them feel more connected with your brand.
Location Based Marketing
Geolocations or location based marketing is going to see a big focus in present times. As long as the customer allows it, companies will be able to send promotional messages to a customer’s mobile device when they get to a certain location.
This will be increasingly useful for smaller businesses that may not get as much exposure as bigger names because it allows for a more targeted approach to marketing.
Enhancement of Customer Experience
One of the biggest small business marketing trends to look out for is the increased focus on enhancing customer’s experience. Customer experience is wider spread than user experience because it focuses on all the contact points a customer makes.
Making sure employees are customer trained, websites have chatbots and that feedback is followed up on are all major points of customer experience. In a world where you can be easily criticised for millions to see, it’s important that small businesses make sure as many customers as possible leave satisfied.
