To run a small business that responds to the demands of modern-day customers, owners, directors, and managers must stay on top of the latest trends followed by today’s most successful enterprises.
Given how much the landscape has changed over the past two years, tech-deprived companies might struggle to adjust to their customers’ new expectations. With the right mindset, your company can embrace technological progress and utilize it to reinvigorate your business and take it to heights previously considered unthinkable.
Here’s a list of four technological trends your small business should consider incorporating into its framework and practices in 2022.
1. Improved Cybersecurity Measures
Today’s businesses, no matter the size, must always be on the lookout for ways to beef up their cybersecurity measures. Slow or non-urgent responses to cyber attacks can wreak untold havoc on the integrity of your business.
Whether by implementing upgrades on your database’s firewall or investing in agentless cloud security features, depending on your existing security measures, there are many areas in which you can get the ball rolling.
For many businesses, cloud security is paramount. Boosting your containerized and Kubernetes security systems with agentless protection safeguards your most important assets and streamlines your digital operation.
2. Marketing Campaigns Strategized Around Influencers
Ads featuring celebrities are resoundingly successful. Consumers will always eat up your advertising content if it involves their favorite basketball player or movie star.
So why not apply this same strategy – albeit at a smaller scale – with local, industry-related influencers? Modern-day businesses must have a dynamic game plan when it comes to marketing their products, and utilizing influencers is a great way to start.
In a similar fashion to celebrities, influencers have massive followings that increase an advertisement’s reach and success, making such a strategy an incredibly efficient way of bringing in a new target audience for your brand’s products.
3. Strong Emphasis on Social Media Advertising
In a similar train of thought, running ads on platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok are foolproof and cost-effective ways of increasing your brand’s awareness and the likelihood of attracting new clientele.
Per a Hootsuite report, the total potential reach of Instagram ads in 2022 was over 1.8 billion people; that’s more than 80% of its user base. These numbers are contingent on various factors, but they speak volumes about the application’s marketer-friendly design.
As consumers, we buy products we see on targeted advertisements across all the social media platforms all the time. Not taking advantage of social media advertising puts your business at a complete disadvantage.
4. Increased Focus on Automation
Thanks to the pandemic shutting down in-person operations, businesses were forced to find ways to automate routine experiences. These strategies are now re-purposed to expedite the customer experience and time spent inside the establishment.
Through contactless shopping experiences that involve self-checkouts, cashless payments, and the incorporation of QR codes, there are numerous ways business owners can expedite various time-consuming processes for their customers.
Moving toward automation sometimes raises valid concerns about layoffs. However, re-sizing the workforce may not be necessary if an increased focus on automation is adopted, thus leading to more significant profit margins. Instead, workers will be able to focus on more engaging and rewarding jobs, leaving monotonous tasks to automated systems.
Closing Thoughts
From cloud security measures to automated shopping experiences, there’s no shortage of technology-based ideas your small business can call upon to boost profit margins and deliver a better experience to your customers. Proactivity is the name of the game in the enterprise of today, and falling behind on the latest trends is signing up for failure.