A new year has just started and things are starting to heat up again after the holiday spending. Many enterprises and small business owners are back to mapping out their business strategies in the hope of improving profits in 2019. While the year offers new opportunities there are also fresh challenges to meet.
Align business objectives with business trends
Small business owners have contrasting objectives. Some are content with being a small fish in a big pond while others desire to be a big fish in a small pond. Both have benefits. It’s a matter of finding your niche to ensure business continuity and generate sustained income at the same time.
In 2019, the trend is towards greater customer focus. Thus, when setting business objectives, it is important to align them with the business trend. You have to prepare, adapt, and be in a better position to compete. There’s no room for complacency even if your business did well the past year.
Greater customer focus in 2019
More changes are forthcoming in technology application, marketing approaches, and financial services among others. But your awareness should be on customer service, customer experience- and at the end of the day- customer satisfaction.
- Get a feel for the modern customer
Customer behavior has changed drastically in recent years. The market environment itself caused the radical change given the abundant choices. With this scenario, businesses that deliver the fastest, most timely, and personalized service would attract the most number of customers.
Better user experience is what modern customers are looking for. You will notice that smaller startups beat the bigger and established counterparts because they provide better customer experience. This is happening across various industries. You will have the edge if you have a great feel for your customers.
- Human factor takes precedence over technology
Technological advances like artificial intelligence and machine learning are most welcome to enhance business processes. However, they are just tools but will never outperform the humans when it comes to providing the ultimate customer experience.
New technologies are meant to augment the work of humans and not to replace them altogether. When you embrace new technologies, you can gather voluminous information and use them to gain better customer insight. The result is improved customer service rendition.
- Personal touch builds relationships, not technology
Technology might be running business processes in the background but the frontline still to humans. Building trust and strengthening customer relationships are best left to the humans.
There are plenty of ways to interact with customers but lending a personal touch is by far the most effective to facilitate transactions. Automation is ready to lend a hand but is not as powerful as personal touch when it comes to developing deep connections with customers.
- High-value, personalized marketing is the key
The advent of e-commerce forced many to alter marketing strategies. But it is becoming increasingly apparent that customers have become immune to various digital marketing content that broad or non-specific.
The key to winning customers over is to implement a high-value personalized marketing campaign. Customers prefer a personal approach in order to be convinced. So remember to make your next very personal.
Obtain financial support
Expect your small business to outperform the previous year if you have a greater customer focus this year. The emergence of new technologies will not buck this trend. But with the anticipated business growth, you should also have financial strength.
Some small businesses have transformed into big fishes in a big pond because of dependable funding partners. Follow the same trail and make haste to find yours. Apart from customer focus, the formula for success is financial strength. So make sure you have the financial backing, to begin with.