Are you worried about your small business as we start to settle into 2017? There are some new avenues of revenue that small business owners should look into, especially if they are concerned about what changes might happen during the new year.
?Expect the unexpected. Be prepared, have a healthy paranoia. Most small businesses won’t be making any big moves until we see what happens,? explains Brad Grossman, founder/CEO of Zeitguide, designed as a ?bespoke think tank, research, insights and media company.?
There is no doubt the corporate world is changing. ?This is the Gig Economy–the new reality is that many want to do many jobs and not be stuck in a full-time position. At the same time, platform companies like Uber and TaskRabbit are enabling that desire to become a reality,? says Grossman.
It is also a good idea for small businesses to fully embrace technology and understand the benefits of technology. ?As small business owners prep for 2017, it?s important they consider modern approaches that transform business functions and drive business growth. Today?s available technology and access to data provides small businesses with unique solutions that allow them to exponentially grow their business,? explains Jen Cohen Crompton, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Neat Company.
And this means tapping into social media as well. ?Transition from cold calling to social media outreach,? advises Crompton. ?Traditional cold calling is an outdated approach that can yield results that vary in success. Instead, forward-thinking small businesses use modern solutions that help salespeople analyze customer data to target the warmest leads.?
Rethink your data storage options. ?Eliminate manual organization and move to digital cloud solutions,? suggests Crompton. ?Paper files and legal pads have been replaced by mobile apps and streamlined cloud storage solutions. These high-tech solutions store more information and make that must-have business information always available to small businesses, no matter where they may be.?
Check out apps and see how they can either help further your business reach or help your business run more smoothly. ?Small businesses should do two things– develop and/or optimize their mobile app and understand their physical space better. By taking advantage of value-added messaging through branded mobile apps, businesses can create multiple avenues of engagement with their shoppers by sending hyper-local ads via Bluetooth signals triggered by smartphones,? Daniel Malak, associate at data collecting company Motionloft, points out.
Remember that there is technology that can help you better understand your customers and your sales. ?Path tracking can define a physical space and plays an important role in not only measuring how quickly customers get to the products they seek, but also the directions they take to find them. This principle helps justify whether or not a layout of displays or aisles works well. In a larger space, such as a shopping center, knowing where people head after they leave a parking structure can help evaluate a property?s most-used access points or adjust the lease rates of vacancies in highly trafficked zones,? says Malak.
Look to 2017 for new possibilities and profit.
