It’s certainly that time of year. The time where we finalize our budgets and plans for the year to come. It’s also the time I like to make business and marketing predictions. Objective guesses about the future help guide the rest of my business plan.
Overall predictions suggest a slow growth in the United States. Some sources say, two percent, but each local market and each industry will differ. I was just reading in Bloomberg Businessweek, for example, about the growth expected in infant and toddler products. Because January 23 marks the start of the year of the dragon in China and with changes to ease the one child rule, a baby boom is expected. The best way to respond to fluctuations in the market is to predict them and respond before they take place.
For 2012, your small business will want to stay flexible. With the Euro crisis and global economic uncertainty, business owners are creating flexible long- and short-term goals and visiting them often. Business owners do well to view marketing as an investment in their company. Now is the time to position yourself so you’re ready for increased demand.
Multichannel marketing will allow business owners to analyze the complexities of customer behavior. I’m a firm believer in highly targeted, tailored marketing campaigns that reach the right audience at the right time.
When it comes to your business’s social media presence, I’m still expecting businesses to demand a measurement of their return on investment. I understand the challenge this continues to pose, but I expect to see more tools that allow customer relationship management and by now you should be well on your way to crafting the right messages and delivering them at the right time.
Social media is continuing to change how market research is conducted. Products will continue to refine themselves and markets will splinter into further niche groups. With online polls, such as you’ll find on Facebook, it is easier than ever to find out just what your customers need.
Lower cost online ads are appealing. Because the innovative ads can reach very specific audiences in both search and social media, I see an increase of online ads and internet marketing and a continued decrease in small businesses seeking traditional print and broadcast advertising.
If you haven’t caught on to the mobileshopping trend, don’t wait any longer. Retailers need to be optimizing their websites for mobile phones.
What do you expect to see in 2012? Please leave your comments below.
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