March – April, 2021 Volume 12 — Issue 100
Small Business Trends for 2021: Time to Move Forward
Hope, at least, has increased for seeing the end of The Pandemic Year(s) and a return to some form of normality. Exactly when that might look like is still anyone’s guess. Vaccines are being distributed around the world; more 
efficiently in some countries than others. But, people are finding access to vaccines is moving a bit smoother than when they first launched.
This Summer, Christmas 2021, next Spring or Summer of 2022… anyone want to take a guess, or place a bet, on when we will feel free once again? Regardless, struggling small businesses that have survived the first year of lockdown need to move forward and in some manner rebuild. Below are some of the small business trends for 2021-2022 as we ‘emerge’.
” In 2021, as in most years, businesses will thrive and survive due to many factors, but next year those who best discover the shift of the moment will be more equipped to evolve with their customers.”
John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing
Small Business Owners and Founders Awareness
Will it be one, two or maybe even more years of constant changes in laws rules, and guidelines? If so, small business leaders must become more aware of what is going on around them on an everyday basis. These are the ‘Exterior Influences’ that are an important part of any entrepreneur’s strategic management. Likewise, being aware of small business trends can help you move your business forward. It is imperative you become aware of changes and how they can affect your ability to operate your firm in growth and success mode.
Anyone not feeling the pain and disruption heaped on our companies over the past year, must have their heads buried in the sand. You remember ostriches; odd looking birds with long legs, fat bodies and long necks, right? Beside that rough description, they also often have a somewhat stubborn look on their faces and are known to bury their heads in the sand when they are scared. Don’t fall into ‘Ostrich Syndrome.’ Keep your head up. Pay attention to what is going on around you.
Some entrepreneurs realize the need for changes in direction much sooner than others. A once-in-a-lifetime pandemic hit the entire globe. Things had to change when the pandemic hit and lockdowns began. It is imperative for businesses to stay in touch with customers, employees and vendors. If customers can’t come to you, how do you get your business, products or services to them?
Restaurants can still cook and serve meals once they devised ways to adjust their delivery systems from eat-in to carry-out and home-delivery. Designers and contractors found ways to work virtually with clients. Projects took more time and cost more due to lack of product and material availability. People stuck at home realized their homes weren’t working as well as in the past. Never dreaming they would double as home offices, schools and entertainment centers, demand for changes jumped. What changes did you make to keep your business alive and operating?
Who Is Aware and Will Survive and Who Will Not?
Small Business Administration (SBA) statistics, just before the pandemic, indicated that one-third of small businesses last ten years, and only half make it past five years. Yelp statistics show that by August, 2020, nearly 98,000 businesses closed permanently. Where does your small business fit into these statistics?
Were you slow but steady, steady and strong, growing and succeeding when this all began or somewhere else entirely? And, where are you now? Are you better off, struggling, hanging on by your fingertips or one of those 98,000 shuttered businesses? Being aware and ready for change is an important part of running a successful business. Small business trends can help owners and leaders see opportunities to leverage for moving forward.
Virtual and Remote Everything!
Are you an employee working remotely from home or a small business staying connected with customers and clients? In either case, it is critical that you embrace technology and ‘remoteness’ options. ‘Remote’ has become far more than just a black, plastic, hand held tool to change television stations, start and stop videos, or change music selections. ‘Remote’ is back to its original definition of an adjective meaning: at a distance. Everything is now at a distance in a world where we have been accustomed to everything being very close and accessible.
Up close and personal is becoming a thing of our business past. Small business trends indicate ‘remote’, ‘virtual’ and e-Commerce are now the norm after a year of using them to survive and thrive. Actually, all of those concepts had been hovering on our technology horizon for some time, but not as a standard or norm. Then suddenly, all of them were forced on companies of all sizes and in every industry.
Creativity and innovation are now more important to growth and success than ever before. What we thought comfortable and our way of doing business suddenly got tossed into a blender, chopped up and spun around. Changing to new methods and concepts became overnight mandates. Things we didn’t want to adopt or were unfamiliar with became critical. Solutions had to be identified, researched and put into place – quickly. All aspects of business operations and relationships now have a virtual twist to them. It is unlikely that things will return to our old normal anytime soon.
Alternative Payment Options
Along with changes in delivery systems for products and services and a surge in e-Commerce comes a need for alternative payment systems. Early on, no one knew how the virus was spreading. Touching everything and anything ‘might’ have led to spreading germs was deemed dangerous. How to live without actually touching anything at all became our big challenge. Among the many ‘surefire’ – not! – ways to stop the spread of COVID was never to touch money, your credit cards or credit card machines unless they were constantly sanitized.
There had been several digital systems for accepting payments already, but a surge in new systems came on the scene. PayPal has been around for quite some time, as have Apple Pay and Google Pay. Now more than twenty alternate payment systems allow customers to virtually pay using their credit cards. No longer do small businesses need to have accounts with every imaginable credit card company. For a small fee (about 3% of your invoice, depending on which service you use), your small business has a wide range of digital payment options for customers.
Embrace Technology: Best Small Business Trend
In today’s world, there isn’t much we can’t accomplish with technology already on the market. Every industry has adapted tech concepts to fit their members’ needs. It is all a part of moving forward, growing your business toward the success you want. Look for tools to improve your productivity and efficiency with technology. There are myriad types of tools available free or at a very low cost. Saving time with improved efficiency is important to businesses of all types and sizes.
Take a Leap! Test the Waters of Artificial Intelligence
Just a few years ago, Artificial Intelligence (AI) was a new buzzword in the tech world. Crazy people were following little virtual creatures around parking lots, parks and into streets. ‘Gaming’ they call it, but personally, craziness is a better description. People ignoring their surroundings, looking at their phones as others tried not to run them over as they walked into traffic.
Good news is, people now understand AI a little better. Now it is huge. AI on the robot side builds cars we drive, and manufactures all sorts of products. It has become an important addition to health- and elder care facilities. In the healthcare arena it makes diagnosis faster and more accurate. It helps control dosage of medications better. AI is making healthcare more productive and efficient.
Scary, isn’t it? How can small businesses embrace Artificial Intelligence? Less than a year before we embarked on our ‘COVID Adventure’, Forbes identified the following ways small businesses could add AI to help their companies grow and succeed.
- Reducing time spent on tasks
- Lowering costs
- Increasing results
- Improving flexibility and responsiveness
- Reducing risk
Recent survey results show that websites with a Live Chat feature see a significant increase in customer conversions and sales. If you have ample staff to man this type of live AI feature, great. But, what about when you are closed or don’t have sufficient staff during business hours to handle incoming customer questions?
Not quite as good, but the next best thing could be adding a Chabot to your site. A Chabot is not as warm and fuzzy as a live person available to answer questions. But, it is definitely another step in building customer relationships. The more information a prospect can access, when they want it, the more likely they are to move closer to hitting your CTA (call to action) or ‘Buy Now’ buttons.
What Comes Next for Small Business Trends?
What comes next? That, my friends is anyone’s guess. Things continue to change day by day. When will we see the ‘real’ end of this? When can we put our masks in a drawer to await something newer and even more different? I won’t even pretend to know the answer to that one. With goal posts constantly being moved, it is hard to create a timeline with any semblance of rationality.
One interesting trend in this big late- or post-pandemic mix is an increased demand for Coaching Services. Those who allow themselves to become aware and decide to do whatever restructuring and pivoting are going after help. We can help you stop, take a deep breath and begin formatting changes to take you into our future.
You may envision the help you seek to come in the form of private coaching. You may need help on narrow or broad topics to put you on a new direct focus back to ‘Normal’. Or, you may see the benefits of belonging to a Mastermind group where you can interact and help others ready to take back control of your companies. Either way, connect with Terri Maurer to find out how. No sense waiting any longer to get your firm poised on the starting line to resume its place in a new growth economy.
