What are the big marketing trends impacting small business? I turned to industry experts for insight. Below are seven trends that small businesses in particular should pay attention to.
Trend #1: Main Street businesses will have a renaissance. Laura Goldberg, Chief Revenue Officer for Kabbage.
“Driven with the desire to take (much-needed) breaks from technologies, many are turning to older traditions to do timeless tasks. There’s no model or algorithm that can replace your pipes, cut your hair, or guarantee tulips for your daughter’s winter wedding. Strong relationships—and even more, personalization—are key in business and paramount in customer service. Local small businesses will see a renaissance in the future, both because of technology and despite its hype.
Trend #2: There will be Less Reliance on the Large Tech Players for Growth. Ben Gold, President at QuickBridge.
Ecommerce-based small businesses will start to shift focus away from trying to align with pure growth tech players and forge their own way with the help of smaller partners who offer more control over branding, customer relationships, and fulfillment. Increased government regulation of tech giants like Amazon and Google will facilitate this return to more independent distribution among smaller ecommerce players looking to gain competitive advantage.
Trend #3: Marketers Will Rely Less on Data and More on Great Storytelling. Cory Treffiletti, Global Head of Demand Gen, Webex.com and Cisco Collaboration
The past 10 years have seen the pendulum shift heavily towards the use of data for targeting and audience segmentation, however many promises of the data-driven marketer have not been realized. Smaller businesses are more strapped for budgets and as a result will spend less on data driven tactics. They will spend more of their time and resources against the development of stories that resonate with the audience and therefore self-select the people who will respond.