What are some of the most useful small business trends and how can you capitalize on them? Some of these trends have been happening for while and others are just beginning to become known. The great thing about these trends is that if you understand them and are willing to adapt, you can get up ahead of the curve and meet or exceed revenue and expense projections.
Marketing is becoming increasingly easier for small businesses to execute on, because of the ever-growing use of the Internet and the proliferation of tools. Let’s say for example, Google’s powerful search engine. If you understand how to use Google’s local listings service, which is called Google Places, you can dominate your category for a local area. For example, if you are pizza parlor and you know how to create a local listing by adding reviews, videos, and the correct keywords, you can have a listing that is easily found by many customers in your local and nearby cities. This tool is so powerful that it’s becoming the search of choice for people, outperforming the Yellow Pages and the newspaper.
Another great marketing tool includes the ever increasing pool of online PR services, which are both free and paid. By creating and distributing your own press releases online, you can reach a much larger audience than just your local region. In addition you will reach an audience of patrons who trust press releases over generic search results.
Other small business trends include the use of millions of different types of services now available on the Internet. They help companies reduce their expenses in a myriad of ways. For example, one great service for saving you time and money is one based on the concept of “virtual telephone service.” What does this mean? A virtual telephone service generally means a voice over Internet protocol or “VOIP” system. A virtual phone service allows you to make and receive phone calls, as well as use all of the other telephone services that you are used to such as: voice mail, call forwarding, and three way calling. These services cost a mere fraction of what they used to cost during the monopoly days of the old AT&T.
Small businesses are also getting smaller. What do I mean by that? The overwhelming majority of small businesses are sole proprietorships, which means that they are single individuals who are running the business. This has all become possible because of the availability, flexibility, and increasingly cheap technology. With this technology you can virtually run a business that touches a city, state, country or even the globe without leaving your home.
There are plenty more small business trends that can be harnessed. But the key to success is not just following the trends but utilizing them to your advantage.
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