It?s that time of year when pop culture outlets are publishing their ?top? lists from the past year: What songs topped the charts? What movies made us swoon? And of course, in the wake of recent tragedies, we can all appreciate a list of 2012?s Top Inspiring and Astounding Events.
In 2012, what made us as a people sit up and take notice, what truly became part of our lives? In business we care a bit less about ?Gangnam Style? than what?s shaking in our bottom line. We look back into 2012 to see what new trends? and technologies we were able to implement in our small business, and which of these will take us into the future and toward a more successful and profitable 2013.
A World Gone Mobile
A mobile strategy has become essential for all businesses. Our smart phones are now and will be our primary computer, one that?s with us around the clock, for the?foreseeable?future. ?These devices have capability for mobile sales, marketing, payments and more. Mobile tablets like iPads and laptops outsold all desktop models in 2012 and the market will continue to grow across all countries, cultures and age ranges.
For small businesses the mobile revolution means your technology should allow your customers and employees to interact with you via a mobile device, that your web site should be mobile capable, and that its high time to integrate mobile into your advertising or marketing.
A big trend that will only grow is geo-tracking and targeting customers via their mobile devices. Mobile marketing allows ?buy it now? marketing campaigns and immediate feedback from customers, both growing trends for 2013.
Mobile Money
The rise in mobile payment options continues to be a huge plus for small business? owners. Using mobile phone apps and mobile payment apps through tablets allowed businesses to process payments from any location. Businesses and customers are no longer staying in a fixed place so mobile payment and billing is the answer.
Self Employment on the Rise
Aside from the uncertainly of the future in traditional jobs, self-employment in America is growing for a number of reasons. First the mobile world we mentioned earlier is allowing for it. People can work with a small amount of reasonably priced tools? (a laptop or tablet) and set up shop anywhere. Billing and online payments can be generated at the click of a button. Technology has allowed a new generation to jump into self-employment without the cost of renting a store or office. Business owners can reach out to mentors, financiers, employees or customers at no cost.
Financing in a Changing World
The financial landscape has changed a lot in the past year, especially in regard to how businesses get funding for start-up and expansion. Banks are no longer the place to go for business financing and the 2012 generation of business owners found themselves going to private sources and using all types of creative financing. Micro-financing and factoring (loans against orders) are popular with private lenders, and equity financing continues to expand. Crowdsourcing from places such as Kickstarter is becoming specialized to different kinds of businesses and is entering mainstream finance circles.? Online payment collection makes collecting money?online and receiving payments possible without investing in specialized software.
Internet Video
Maybe you should care about Gangnam Style after all. ?(It?s You Tube?s most watched video in history and closing in on 1 billion views!) ?Every single day over ?100 million people will watch videos online. Along with adding mobile to your marketing your business? should be adding video to your web site. Video tutorials, brochures and tours are all proven converters.
What other trends are on the rise? The Cloud will become more important to even small business as it becomes more and more accessible for applications, data and remote services. Business practices and customer feedback will become more and more transparent.
Social media applications like Pinterest and Instagram that allow people to share their hopes, dreams and likes with pictures experienced phenomenal growth in 2012 and will continue to explode.?? Next year you will likely be telling a story about your business through video, photos or infographics.
Even though technology as a whole is accused of alienating people, it has allowed us to get closer and closer to our customers and be able to gather individualized data. Serving individuals and meeting needs is not a trend but a time honored part of humanity and a great way to keep customers.
What trends did you notice in 2012? What are you looking forward to in 2013?
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