Small business owners and entrepreneurs should stay on top of the latest consumer trends and expectations to pivot their business models to meet their audiences. Following the pandemic, emergent consumer behavior has influenced small business campaigns, startup planning, and marketing campaigns.
Three enduring trends have emerged, and we’ll take a look at each of them.
Table of Contents
- Omnichannel Marketing Experience
- Use of Logistics, Automation, and Artificial Intelligence to Mitigate Pandemic-Holdover Supply Chain Problems
- Influencer Marketing Strategy
Omnichannel Marketing Experience
The preferred e-commerce customer experience now includes omnichannel marketing: that is, the ability for a customer to connect with a small business via apps, social media, phone, email, web interfaces and chats, and text messages on their smartphones and other mobile devices.
The average consumer won’t refer to this as “omnichannel marketing,” but they can explain how they would prefer to order their products from their desktop, chat with customer service about it on the phone while they’re driving, and follow up via web chat later. This type of optimization creates a personalized experience for the customer, who is recognized by their phone number and email address when they call in. Omnichannel marketing software is a big time-saver, and is connected to conventional customer relationship management (CRM) platforms such as Salesforce.
The Apple Store, for example, even provides in-person, in-store support to customers who purchase their products online, and their system allows support staff to look up the customer’s information as needed. This is ideal for a product like a laptop, which consumers would prefer to have diagnosed and fixed in-store, regardless of budget.
Use of Logistics, Automation, and Artificial Intelligence to Mitigate Pandemic-Holdover Supply Chain Problems
Amazon is the master of logistics, and when they make mistakes, they’re known for making it right for the customer, thanks to their strong support team. In a world where consumers continue to be appalled by out-of-stock products at the grocery store, potential customers appreciate a brand’s ability to tell them whether an item is in stock and how long it will take to get, especially when they are shopping online. It’s all about trust.
Of all the small business trends to be on the lookout for, this one reflects the consumer’s need for stability when they’re ordering from a small business. If you’re focusing on digital marketing and operating in the e-commerce sphere, even if you’re listed as a small business on a platform like Amazon, you’re competing with less secure and reliable startups and apps such as Temu.
Consumers prefer companies like Amazon to use automation to help manage inventory and prevent shortages. However, many tend to be wary and outright distrustful of artificial intelligence writing platforms such as ChatGPT, so it’s not accurate to say that consumers embrace automation wholeheartedly. Post-pandemic, people feel fragile: is your marketing move something that will make them feel more or less secure in their lives? This is a helpful guiding principle.
Influencer Marketing Strategy
A continually strong trend, especially in online shopping, continues to be the role of the influencer. Millennials and gen z shoppers hope for eco-friendly sustainability and other specific product features before they commit to the checkout process. Word-of-mouth remains a popular and valuable way for them to find out about a new business, service, or product. Who do they listen to when it comes to recommendations for products and services? Second to their friends, online customers trust their favorite influencer picks.
Influencer marketing is a trend that will remain in the business world for years to come. Even Forbes supports this growing influencer niche with a range of content and incentives to encourage content creators to use social media platforms to grow.
In the coming years, small businesses will continue to streamline and modify their practices to align with consumer trends. As a small business owner, ask yourself whether your current strategy aligns with customer expectations.
