Small business owners have a lot on their plates. Trust me, I know because I am one myself! With 2019 around the corner, business owners, marketing speakers and sales speakers are already looking ahead to predict upcoming marketing trends — and for good reason. With the world changing a mile a minute, it’s harder and harder to scale, differentiate yourself, and maintain trust in the ever-changing world of marketing. The better you can plan ahead for what’s around the curve, the better equipped you can be to manage change. Looking to stay ahead of the curve in 2019? Here are a couple marketing trends to pay attention to in 2019. Trust goes to people they know and reputable content, not ads A few years ago, small business owners and marketers knew that customers were running away from traditional ads. A 2015 Nielsen study showed that the top four most trusted sources of advertising were: people you know, branded sites, editorial sites, and reviews. Ads are close to the bottom of the list, and that fact hasn’t really changed in 2018—and neither will it this year. In fact, 30 percent of internet users were still using some form of an ad blocker at the end of 2018, with numbers growing from year to year. It just means that traditional ads might not even reach 30 percent of possible target audience members. This is why we see business owners switch focus to content marketing, influencer marketing, referral partnership, and other methods that are designed to deliver actual value to audiences. Plus, unless ads start adding more value for the consumer, this shift won’t be ending anytime soon. Understanding how your customers communicate is key Technology is making big changes to marketing trends over the last few years. Customers are increasingly expecting more from their favourite brands and businesses, including the expectation that companies will communicate with them under their terms. That’s why it’s critical for small business owners to be aware (and work with) their customers’ communication preferences. For instance, marketing trends show that 50% of all searches will be made through voice search by 2020. As small business owners, we now have to consider not only how our customers conduct a typical Google search, but also how they voice search. Creativity over conformity, will set successful marketers apart For the longest time, people have said that print is dead. But while a part of that may be true, we can’t neglect that there is an opportunity to do something different from your competitors if everyone goes down one path (i.e. going digital). The point here isn’t to resurrect print marketing or only doing something because it’s uncommon. Instead, small business owners should consider creative distribution tactics and integrated campaigns that focus on methods to engage audience members—especially ones that their industry competitors might not be considering. Ready To Take Your Business To The Next Level? Once you decide what direction you want to take your small business marketing in 2019, capture all your expenses and track your ROI with Kashoo. You can use Kashoo on-the-fly with the mobile app and make sure you never miss another expense. Ready to take your small business to the next level? Try Kashoo free for 14 days now.
