As life returns to normalcy, new small business trends emerge. Small businesses can gain ground by recognizing these business trends today. According to business owners, some industry revolutions are expected to continue into 2022. Furthermore, because the epidemic necessitates more distant labor than ever before, SaaS demand will only increase. Small business owners must be aware of the changes and trends driving business in the post-pandemic era. Now let's look at the top business trends we believe will impact small businesses in 2022.
New Small Business Trends
Since the world's economies have entered the current pandemic, there have been developments in trending small businesses lately noted. A company must be informed of current business trends to continue earning sales.
1. Complex Solutions take Second Place in the Customer Experience
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
It's no secret that companies care a lot about who can give them a great customer experience. They want solutions that aren't overly complicated and cater to their individual requirements. Companies looking for software look for vendors who make doing business simple. As a result, SaaS providers focus on giving potential customers even more options, such as enhanced customization, increased customization, white labeling, APIs, and other capabilities. Business SaaS providers will increasingly focus on streamlining their variety of services to retain existing customers rather than obtaining new ones.
2. Growing Interest in Vertical Solutions
While much of the available corporate SaaS software caters to various industries, there is a rising demand for vertical solutions as a part of new small business trends. A set of software solutions suited to the needs of a specific industry is referred to as vertical SaaS. SaaS organizations are increasingly discovering a need to cater to a certain industry, whether on-demand services, healthcare, finance, or online retail. There is a huge untapped opportunity to collaborate with businesses in specialized sectors for enterprises trying to create vertical solutions. Expect to see more vertical-specific enterprise SaaS solutions in 2022.
3. Omnichannel Selling
Concentrating on a single channel for selling your things and making the most of it by having buyers come to you directly shows that you're doing everything right, especially customer acquisition. This, on the other hand, limits your ability to engage with additional potential clients through a variety of channels. According to studies on small business trends, 84.9 percent of purchasers won't buy something unless they've seen it several times. According to the Global Web Index, consumers utilize social media sites to investigate goods and companies. Meanwhile, expanding your reach to social media platforms and major online buying sites like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy puts you in direct contact with your potential customers.
4. Chatbots for Customer Service Management
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
For medium and large e-commerce businesses, customer service is a critical component of their operations. One aspect of this is dealing with client inquiries. People respond to these questions in a variety of ways. Few companies can afford to hire tens of thousands of customer service representatives. Meanwhile, chatbot development has made customer service easier in recent years. Chatbots can accomplish many things, so integrating them into customer service is the best step you can take right now.
- Collect data from the survey
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Make suggestions for products
- Inform customers about your current promotional deal
All of these duties allow for a faster, more accessible connection with thousands of customers at once, with each client receiving a personalized response to their inquiry.
5. Communication Applications Will Grow in Importance
Prioritizing good communication with your staff is critical to your company's success. Otherwise, poor team communication can lead to poor collaboration and workplace drama. Communication tools and software have become fundamental trends in small business to improve communication in this remote age. And, if I had to predict, it will be a large part of next year's small business trends as well. Thus it's on our list of top business trends. Teams, whether they are remote or not, benefit from communication applications. Since Covid's debut in 2020, applications and tools such as video conferencing software and messaging platforms have exploded in popularity. It may also exist for a long time, similar to remote working.
6. Increased Desire for Customized Goods
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
It's nearly impossible to satisfy a customer totally. The problem is not totally solved by categorizing customers into various categories. However, because of the customer's monopoly at the moment of purchase, product customization makes a difference in customer happiness. In exchange, 22% of consumers are willing to provide their personal information. Customers can make their own designs and choose their favorite colors with the Nike Lunarglide Shoes Edition. Enfamil is in the same boat. To submit personal information throughout pregnancy, the expectant mother must provide the baby's due date to Enfamil. More than a few brands have adopted this strategy. By 2022, most e-commerce enterprises and online marketplaces will make their customers' buying experiences as simple as possible while also increasing brand loyalty.
7. Agile Service Delivery and Product Development
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
Few other new small business trends to watch in 2022 is the rate at which businesses implement more agile customer solutions. The capacity to serve consumers and retain product development agility gives you a competitive advantage by assisting in developing a personal brand with a recognized competitive advantage. SMEs will be able to supply diversity, creativity, and strategic innovation in any market by providing diverse solutions and analyzing their impact on different clients.
8. The Majority of the Workforce will be Made Up of Gig Workers
Freelancers, often known as gig workers, account for a sizable portion of the workforce. Within the United States, 59% of the population undertook freelance employment last year as per the study on small business trends. And, especially with our new standard from Covid, that wide range will most likely continue to grow in 2022. Now you're undoubtedly wondering, "What do gig workers have to do with my business?" worldwide. It could be a match made in heaven, depending on your requirements. You can hire a contract employee to complete a one-time task and collect data in a specific location. Furthermore, you may be able to save money by not hiring a full-time staff. Gig workers, like children, are the future of our society. If you're looking for high-quality work at a low administrative fee, consider looking at freelance alternatives for your company this year. And who knows, maybe you'll find an employee you like so much that you'll need to hire them full-time.
9. Online Marketplaces and e-commerce Enterprises will Thrive
Many new small business trends emerged in the last year or two as firms sought to adapt to survive the pandemic. One tendency I've noticed as a means to ensure long-term viability in 2022 and beyond? Marketplaces on the internet. E-commerce companies that sell services and products through the internet have grown in popularity. Why? Customers may safely and correctly save from the comfort of their own homes. Furthermore, business entrepreneurs should not be afraid of having a physical location. Business owners can avoid a few overhead costs by doing all of their business operations online. It's a win-win situation. If you're thinking about starting an internet business but are hesitant to open a physical location, starting a hyperlocal business might be the way to go.
10. The Use of Social media as a Sales Channel will Increase
Customers utilize social media to make shopping decisions in about 74% of cases. People are increasingly purchasing things directly from their favorite social networking platforms. By 2022, social media for shopping will be more popular among modern users. Making purchases directly through social media, known as social commerce, is gaining popularity. Instagram Shopping and the newly announced Instagram Checkout are at the forefront of these small business trends. Customers who shop on Instagram are sent to an eCommerce website where they may finalize their purchases. In contrast, the new Instagram Checkout allows users to make payments immediately on Instagram without visiting the brand's website or app. According to most experts, Instagram and TikTok will have fully functional e-commerce platforms with built-in affiliate networks by 2022.
Final thoughts
This year, several small business trends were identified. As you may have noted, all of these factors are tied to your ability to conduct business online. A professionally built website is the most critical asset for any business to be able to operate online. If you agree, you can join the club and become one of Strikingly's tens of thousands of users. It's completely free to create a simple website on Strikingly, and it only takes a few hours to get it up and running. You'll be routed to various ready-to-use templates once you sign up for a free account with us. You must choose one of these and use our drag-and-drop functionality to begin entering your website content. You won't have to write a single line of code, and your fantastic landing page will be ready in no time at all, and it'll be entirely free!
