6 Small Businesses Trends for 2014

Can you believe it’s already the last week in December? This is crazy. Just yesterday I was riding my bicycle across Iowa in 90-degree heat, and now it’s time to ring in the new year? Tempus Fugit, as they say. Since the new year is insisting on arriving, perhaps now would be a good time to consider 2014 trends that will affect small businesses. Google “2014 small business trends,” and you’ll find dozens if not hundreds of articles. We pulled out some of the top small business trends for 2014 to help you as you plan your business strategies for the coming year.

The Eyes Have It
Everything you do in 2014 should have a visual element to it. People are wired for pictures. Most everyone has a phone and/or camera — and the majority of phones are cameras that can take both photos and videos. Apps like Instagram, Vine and Snapchat make posting and sending those visuals easy. An image can get your message across faster than someone can read a paragraph of text. And a video can enhance understanding. Knowing this, consider how you can improve the images of your products and services. How can you share pictures and videos about your products and services in an interesting and relevant way? Talk to your customers and do some competitive research to help determine where your potential customers might be looking for visual information. Is it Pinterest, YouTube, Facebook? Brainstorm how you might tell your brand story through pics and video and then consider hiring a professional — or at least read up on how to take a good photo or video — to create quality visuals.

You Don’t Have to Do It All
Technology is making the world more connected and collaborative. This is great for small business, because it means you no longer have to do everything by yourself! Partnering with other small businesses that can complement your offering could just be a click away. Growing your staff and capabilities with freelancers, contractors or consultants is now easier than ever before, and they don’t have to be local. While 123Print is in Pennsylvania, I work in Nebraska, and two of the writers on my team are in Montana and Georgia. Using Skype, instant messaging and email, it’s like we’re all just down the hall from each other. And this accessibility creates a two-way street. Not only can you outsource specific work, but you can also become a resource for another business. For example, let’s say you provide a specific service like accounting. You may want to outsource your marketing efforts to an advertising consultant. Likewise, another business may want to outsource their bookkeeping to you — and technology makes it easy and efficient to do this.

Green is Still In Fashion
When the economy took a hit, some people and businesses were not able or willing to pay extra to buy or produce green-friendly products. But with the economy improving, the green trend is definitely back in vogue. The Emergent Research and Intuit 2020 Report of trends that will shape the next decade says that sustainability will move from social novelty to business necessity with the return of economic growth and renewed pressure on resource supplies and prices, while regulation, taxes and other efforts to reduce carbon footprints will add to these pressures. This is good news, considering that the 2013 Small Business Sustainability Report found that 79% of survey respondents agreed that offering green products and services gave their business a competitive advantage, and 76% said that their green products and services are profitable. Going green and actively marketing your sustainability practices could help grow your market share and increase profitability in 2014.

Blurred Lines
Always-on, 24/7 access to technology like tablets and smartphones means that the division between work and home life are less distinct. This can be beneficial for small businesses in that it can allow employees to be more effective and efficient, answering important emails or responding to business-related social comments as soon as they come in. Plus, like you and your employees, your customers and prospective customers are always plugged in, creating a potential to consider a purchase at any time of the day or night. And if you have an eCommerce site, that purchase is always just one click away. This means we need to continually engage prospects to consider us online, even if the purchase has to be done in person. What can you do in 2014 to take advantage of this trend?

No Free Rides
Social isn’t as free as it used to be. Social media marketing success is no longer measured by likes and followers. Today, we expect social to create conversions and grow the bottom line. But Facebook has changed its newsfeed algorithm (again) and organic reach is declining. Most every social network is offering paid advertisements. Participating in paid ads needs to be evaluated and added to your 2014 budget if it makes sense. You need a strategy for maximizing the return on ad spend. And you have to figure out how you will create enough relevant content to engage your communities on an ongoing basis. Winning over social advocates who can help you promote your business requires you to become a trusted advisor that provides industry news and information as opposed to just advertising. Joining or establishing niche communities uniquely associated with your product or service can have a big impact. And beyond marketing, social is becoming a place where small businesses can listen and learn, co-create with customers, integrate the product experience, provide customer service and educate customers. The days of having miscellaneous employees post or tweet when they get a minute isn’t enough. In 2014, you have to have a social strategy.

More Data
Hand in hand with the growth of mobile technology (smartphones, tablets and more), comes the growth of the data that comes in from these devices. Many small businesses are turning their phones and tablets into cash registers for their brick-and-mortar stores as well as for portable shopping experiences at art fairs, bazaars, home shows and more. They’re also using tablets to better answer customer questions and illustrate benefits, much like you see the Geniuses do at the Apple Stores. Every in-person digital interaction allows you to collect data that is unique to your business, and can make it easier to find information about sales trends, seasonality, customer habits and other shopping insights. Knowing more about when, how and why your customers are shopping and deciding to purchase can help you make better decisions about inventory, staffing, advertising and more. Plus, location-based apps like FourSquare and Shopkick can provide additional insights about shoppers who check-in at your location but don’t purchase.

Hopefully you learned something new or we sparked an idea with our look at 2014 small business trends. What trends are you seeing for the new year? Please let us know by commenting below, or write on our 123Print Facebook wall or Google+ page. Feel free to tweet us a link to good articles on 2014 trends as well. We appreciate your feedback and help sharing good information.