It’s been a year, but it isn’t over yet. You can still do a lot to increase growth and generate more revenue from your small business.

And you’re lucky! We’ve compiled some of the new small business trends, so you don’t have to do the hard work of researching. In this guide, we look at some crucial small business trends for 2022 and beyond. 

15 Small Business Trends For Success in 2022

As a small business owner, staying up to date with current trends is essential to boost your business growth. Staying up to date with these business trends is the best way to know what works, what doesn’t, and what you need to improve.

With that said, here are some top business trends for the next 10 years: 

1: Focus on Omnichannel Selling

Whether you are a large corporation or a small business owner, concentrating on just one channel is a bad idea. 

Why? 

Focusing on a single channel limits your chance of acquiring new customers through other channels. Also, many buy things only after seeing them multiple times on different channels. One small business news by Sprout Social explained that 84.9% of buyers wouldn’t purchase something unless they see it multiple times. 

So, instead of focusing on just Instagram, WhatsApp, or Twitter, consider spreading your business across multiple social media channels and buying platforms. 

2: Increase Value by Offering Free Delivery

Delivery price plays a significant role in a customer’s buying decision, even more than the product price. That’s why one of the global business trends in 2022 is offering free shipping to customers. Free delivery is a very strategic way to increase the average order value and encourage more people to buy. 

But, there is one problem: 

Shipping fees can be expensive, and it may be difficult for small businesses to sustain the cost. In this case, it’s best to set a cost price that covers the cost of your products, shipping costs, and profit margin. 

3. Optimize Your Store For International Shoppers

Small businesses now have the opportunity to sell to a global audience through online commerce. A lot of small businesses are optimising their store so they can take international orders. Some ways to optimise your store include making provisions for international delivery, enabling different currencies, and incorporating multiple payment methods. 

This is an excellent business trend to hop on if you offer products that will appeal to an international audience. 

4. Scale Up On Ecommerce Business

E-commerce is undoubtedly one of the rising small business trends 2022, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Many customers are now shopping online, and they love the convenience of sourcing products through an e-commerce store. 

So, try to create an ecommerce store for your small business to improve your sales and increase customers’ convenience. Also, having your business online will save you a lot of overhead costs of running a brick-and-mortar store. Meanwhile, this doesn’t mean you should cancel your plans to have a physical location. You have your business open both online and at a physical location.

Tip:

An important tip to note when creating an ecommerce store for your business is mobile friendliness. People buy online because it’s convenient, so they won’t waste time exiting an e-commerce store with a poor user experience. 

5. Develop Short Form Video Content

One of the best marketing ideas for small businesses at the moment is incorporating video into your strategy. If you already post videos, now is the time to improve your effort because videos are increasing in popularity. 

Video content dominates the industry, especially with major social media channels like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook rolling out video features.  Many consumers engage with short-form videos more than other content forms, so it’s easy to understand why it has become a trend. A study on social media marketing trends shows that video consumption is growing by 31% every year since 2016. 

There are many types of videos you can create for your brand. If you are unsure how or what kind of video to create, you can refer to this guide on video marketing ideas. 

6. Pay Attention to Search Engine Optimisation

SEO is a marketing strategy that small businesses often overlook, but it’s fast gaining momentum. Your business may be small, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be discoverable on the biggest search engine platform. One of the best ways to improve visibility on Google is to invest in an effective SEO strategy. This latest marketing trend will help you build organic customers via an online search. 

There are a lot of SEO strategies, but one of the most effective is optimising your website content to attract customers and engines. You can start by creating a Google My Business Page and including relevant keywords in your website content. 

Here are some guides to help you get the hang of SEO as a small business owner: 

• How to Crack Keyword Research: A Step by Step Guide for  SEO 
•  A Beginners Guide on How to Optimise Google My Business Page

7. Support Hybrid Work

Business shouldn’t just be about making a profit but also supporting your team members and employees in ways you can. 

One of the top business trends for next 10 years is allowing team members and employees to choose how they want to work. Give your employees the option to work from home or hybrid as long as they can get the job done. Adopting a flexible workspace not only improves the well-being of your employees but also increases their productivity. 

8. Lookout For Freelance Workers

Freelance workers are becoming a large chunk of worldwide workers, and that number will continue to grow beyond 2022. 

You may wonder, what do freelance workers have to do with top business trends for 2022? 

Well, it depends on what you need for your business. If you need a quick flier, a new logo, or a website, you can hire a freelancer instead of a full-time worker. This will help you cut the cost of hiring a full-time employee while improving the work-life balance for all.

9. Take Advantage of Collaboration Tools

From Slack to Zoom and Asana, one of the top small business trends for 2022 is using collaboration tools to increase productivity. Poor collaboration and communication can reduce workers’ productivity, affecting your business’s growth. 

But with communication and collaboration tools, you can communicate with your team more efficiently. Collaboration tools are even more critical if you have employees working from home. If you haven’t done so already, try out some communication applications with your team.

10. Build a Community 

Having customers is good, but you know what’s better? 

A community. 

As a small business, you will greatly benefit from growing an online community for your brand. There are many ways to jump on this business strategy trend 2022,  including 

• Interacting with Customers

Don’t just sell to customers; interact with them to build a community out of them. One brand that comes to mind when it comes to customer interaction is Netflix. Despite being a huge brand with a large worldwide following, Netflix manages to interact directly with customers. You, too, can do this by responding to customers’ comments, resharing customers’ content (of your brand), keeping in touch with old customers and even following your customers. 

• Sharing Valuable Content

Another way to build a community is by establishing yourself as a thought leader in your industry. You can do this by consistently sharing valuable content relevant to your target audience. Your content could be videos, Q&A, webinars, blog posts, newsletters, etc. Remember always to put your customers in perspective when creating content for them. 

11. Use Social Media As a Sales Channel

A lot of customers are now purchasing products directly from their favourite social media platforms in 2022. Instagram Storefront and Facebook Marketplace are at the forefront of these social media marketing trends. For your business growth and increased visibility, it’s a good idea to use your social media as a sales channel for customers to make purchases. 

12. Prioritise Customer Experience

Your customers are a big part of what keeps your business afloat. For this reason, creating a memorable experience that keeps your customers coming back is essential. Here are some recent trends in marketing to improve customer experience: 

• Create Personalised Experience

Customers love a personalised experience, and small businesses are starting to create a memorable experience through personalisation. This includes sending customised emails, using Hi <<Name>>> in emails instead of Hi Customer, and sending thank you notes on orders. 

• Use Chatbots for Customer Service Management

Responsiveness is a big deal for many customers, and it’s one of the things that keep your business afloat. A lot of small businesses are investing in chatbots to improve communication and simplify customer service. Chatbots help businesses simplify communication with customers by responding to enquiries, gathering feedback, notifying about sales, and so on. 

13. Learn From Data Insights

As a small business owner, it’s best to get into the digital marketing trends 2022 by using data to improve your marketing strategy. Data can help you understand a lot of things about your customers, including their buying habits, needs, lifestyle, demographics, and so on. Knowing these things will help you make more data-driven decisions to improve your small business. 

You can gain insight using tools like Google Analytics, Sprout Social, and Social media insight tools. Also, you can gain insight into your customers by paying attention to feedback, creating customer surveys, and conducting interviews.

Using data is one of the best business tips for success because it helps you create a better customer experience, strategise your marketing campaigns, improve your products and create more effective messaging. 

14. Enable Alternative Payment Options

Customers are now demanding alternative payment options, and it’s only fitting to enable multiple payment options on your sales channel. Alternative payment methods are any form of payment that is not a traditional payment method like cash or card. Some alternative payment options include online bank transfers, debit cards, mobile wallets, and even post-pay. You can jump on this business strategy trend in 2022 by offering customers both traditional and alternative payment methods. 

15. Support a Social Cause

Consumers today are loyal to brands that take a stance or show support for a social cause they care about. Many customers are worried about what’s happening in the world, and they love brands that have values that align with theirs. Also, customers are more likely to purchase from businesses that support a social cause. 

You can adopt this small business trend by donating to causes, taking a reasonable stand on social issues, making your business more sustainable, and so on. 

Also, make sure to amplify your support on social media and other platforms to notify your customers. 

And asides from a profit-making point of view, your small business is capable of influencing changes in the world if you make an effort. 

Wrapping Up

There are a lot of small business trends in 2022. As you may see, most of these trends involve operating your business online and improving customer experience and work culture. 

We hope you find some new trends you can hop on for the rest of 2022 and beyond.