Five Small Business Trends to Pay Attention to in 2021

The year 2020 has been a year full of change. The election season has created turmoil. Children are still learning online. Brick-and-mortar businesses are struggling to stay open considering the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the months leading up to March 2020, the business world faced unique challenges. For example, there was the question of how to keep the best talent for a company. Now, the question is whether to keep the doors open or to close them.

For as much as things have changed, some things have stayed the same. Competition has not gone anywhere. It has become fiercer. Uncertainty about jobs and fear of layoffs has made people reluctant to spend money. They are selective with how they use each dollar, so now businesses need to work harder to show customers that their brand offers value.

Many organizations are doing this by taking advantage of cloud computing. Cloud computing allows businesses to offer better services to their customers quicker. By taking advantage of secure, cloud-based accounting tools that use double-entry, organizations can streamline the invoicing and payment process for their customers. E-commerce stores allow customers to purchase the products they want and when they want.

If an organization is going to be viable going into 2021, they will need to stay ahead of the business trends. The following are five small business trends worthy of attention going into 2021.

1. Increased Reliance on User Reviews

A business that is not currently giving attention to social media user reviews is already behind the curve. Coming into 2020, customers valued information when it comes to the products and services they purchased. Now, as they strive to make their dollars stretch further, information has become more important.

Before purchasing a product or service, customers want to know what their fellow customers thought about the product. Research shows that there is a 92 percent chance that customers will not purchase products if there is not a review for it online. If the majority of the reviews are negative, it is easy to imagine the impact that will have.

The customer review process is inexpensive. On sites like Yelp, Yahoo, or Google My Business, it is completely free. Having excellent reviews does a lot to build trust in your brand without requiring you to spend any money on advertising.

2. Generation Z Will Become an Economic Force

Generation Z, which includes those born between 1997 and 2015, are currently between eight and 23 years old. The number of 68 million individuals in the United States. While this generation is among the youngest generation on the planet, their buying power and ability to influence what others buy is unbelievably impactful.

Many people in this younger generation are entering the workforce for the first time. If they are not purchasing things for themselves, their parents are buying for them. And their parents are deciding based on their children’s tastes.

Generation Z is the first generation to have spent the entirety of their life in a world where technology, including the Internet and e-commerce, were commonplace. As a result, they are tech savvy. They decide after research and value environmental awareness in companies over other attributes. They have unique preferences and unique values. Businesses need to tailor their marketing to attract this group if they are going to continue to grow over the next 10 years.

3. User-Generated Content Will Become More Important

User-generated content includes reviews, videos, or images created by customers or users as opposed to what is created by the brand itself. User-generated content is the modern equivalent of word-of-mouth marketing. It adds a level of authenticity and realism to marketing that cannot be provided from any other source.

User-generated content outperforms brand created content. Brands allow their customers to be the ones who market for them. User-generated content is not a new trend. It has been around for several years. However, in the wake of COVID-19 and its subsequent lockdowns, there has been an enormous increase in user-generated content. This has been important because more people are purchasing things online and want to see ordinary people interact with brands they are considering purchasing.

4. Branded Content

On the other side of the coin is high-quality branded content. It is expected to play a major role in business in 2021. This includes the use of AI and interactive content. You should expect businesses to use branded content to create a unique experience for customers.

There is an overabundance of branded content. It is easy for organizations that do not offer something unique to get lost in the crowd. Branded content needs to catch the audience's attention and to hold on to it.

5. Mobile-First Employee Communication

Currently, Millennials represent 50 percent of the workforce. They will soon represent 75 percent of the workforce. Millennials are tech-savvy and are driven by mobile technology. In order to keep their mobile teams focused and engaged, organizations will need to adapt their communication efforts in a way that will reach team members, like using mobile-first communication.

Traditional meetings, where the vast majority of attendees are not paying attention, will not work to spread a message effectively to employees. Communication apps strengthen productivity, reduce misunderstandings, improve engagement, and add to the overall smooth flow of information when dealing with a millennial workforce.

Having employees who work from home use employee apps for videoconferencing and sending messages will continue to be popular in 2021. You can expect that people are going to be traveling fewer thanks to the improvement of telecommunications. This means that business leaders are going to need to revamp their communication strategies. They will need to create workplace collaboration strategies that function even though everyone is in a different place.

Conclusion

The year 2020 is still here, but it is never too soon to take advantage of future small business trends. You don’t want to be trying to catch up with the trend. By leading the way and adapting to viable trends early, you will stay ahead of the competition.

(Disclaimer: Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)