What's next for your marketing in 2020?

There's no shortage of 'round-up' articles this time of year on the "business year in review" or "the marketing year ahead." We won't bother you today with a "hot or not" list of our own, but instead here's a quick few links to to give you some food for thought going into the new year.

The small business finance firm Fora has published its "The Ultimate Guide to Small Business Trends: 2020 & Beyond." Some key insights:

• Automation is your new best friend. Whether it’s for accounting, data entry, email marketing, customer service, or any number of business processes, entrepreneurs are achieving more with less, thanks to automation.
• More than 70 percent of small businesses use social media for promotion and that number is expected to grow swiftly, as potentially will the need for working with paid social media influencers.
• Generation Z (those born in the late 1990s and early 2000s) are expected to represent 40 percent of all consumers (US) by 2020
  
  

Mailchimp, the email marketing powerhouse (with 1 billion emails sent daily), has also published a helpful guide (PDF download). While their report is U.S.-focused, it still offers some good insights into the small business marketing landscape, as well as on marketing trends and methodologies for the new year, which (no surprise) heavily feature email and social media marketing. Some insights might feel familiar:

• 31 percent of small business cite marketing as their number 1 challenge
• Feeling overwhelmed by technology? You're not alone. The average small business uses more than 8 tools and features to communicate with their customers. As of 2019, however, there are more than 7,040 different marketing technology solutions available.
• It's time to look at your numbers. Thirty nine percent of SMBs are currently using analytics to inform their communications. However, almost half (46%) of SMBs are not currently using a data-informed strategy but would like to do so in the future.
• Make your social media presence attention-getting. According to an eMarketer study, adults (in the U.S.) spent a mere 38 minutes per day on Facebook and 26 minutes per day on Instagram.

Phone platform Freschcaller has issued a helpful Top 10 2020 small business trends list. Insights include:

• Personalization is key in 2020 - there are too many options, including through technology, to settle for a "one size fits all" approach to your marketing.
• Customer reviews have become absolutely essential to seling products online. One survey showed 92percent of people hesitate to make a purchase when there are no reviews on a site.
• Stories (short video content which disappears after 24 hours) are overtaking newsfeeds (Facebook, Instagram) -- stories are growing 15x faster than the news feed. Along with live streaming, stories will become the primary way by which brands convey their message, as they are more "in the moment" and can add to a feeling of authenticity.
• Remote working will continue to be a way for small businesses to compete and to hire talent from around the world.
• The gig economy can be your friend when it comes to short term help. According to a report by the freelancer union, up to 43% of the total workforce will taking part in the gig economy in 2020.
• Voice search is taking over. Smart speakers such as Alexa and Google Home have already gained huge popularity. The number of voice searches performed is also going up due to this — according to Gartner, nearly a third of web browsing would be voice-activated by 2020. Given that talking is the natural way of doing things this comes as no surprise. Voice searches are easier to perform, especially when we are on the go like in a car or while walking.

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What's next?

Like many of you, we're winding down the year but also marking up the whiteboard with ideas and plans for 2020. We'll have some exciting things to share, including some unique new offers on mentoring and marketing support. Until then, happy holidays to all!