Businesses must find new ways to keep up with customer demands and the competitive market. Every new year, entrepreneurs’ major challenges include finding and nurturing customers and sustaining steady cash flows. They also have concerns about upgrading workflows and tools to improve productivity and generate more revenues. In addition, businesses must anticipate economic fluctuations, political turmoil, labor issues, and other possible crisis that can drastically affect various industries.
The 2019 CNBC-SurveyMonkey survey shows that 52 percent of respondents (small business owners) say hiring qualified employees is more difficult than the previous year. In 2020, 80 percent of respondents answered finding new customers is one of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face. The recently published Statista findings show that inflation was the most important business problem in the United States as of December 2022.
With all the business world’s challenges, technological innovations and trends arise to help provide effective solutions to reduce or eliminate them. Below are the key trends you need to watch out for in 2023 to guide you in making better choices and decisions for your business.
Surge In Demand for Outsourcing
In the new year, more businesses will need to outsource IT, business process outsourcing (BPO), and blockchain. Statista projected the revenue of IT outsourcing at USD$430.50 billion in 2023 with an annual growth rate of 8.07 percent, reaching a market volume of USD$587.30 billion by 2027.
According to CMO Milo Cruz of FreelanceWritingJobs, “Because of tight labor supply, many companies are outsourcing tasks. This trend will continue for the next five years. It’s just now a matter of selection. Businesses can choose from nearshore and farshore outsourcing services, wherein the former eliminates cultural and time zone differences while the latter offers more affordable services.”
“Outsourcing opens a global pool of highly talented freelancers employed by outsourcing companies. The top freelancers are honed by their years of experience working with clients and companies worldwide. They are crowded in online job portals and outsourcing platforms. If you can’t find a qualified candidate from your local area, consider outsourcing to solve this labor problem.”, Cruz added.
Preston Powell, the CEO of Webserv, also pointed out, “Gone are the days when businesses hire in-house employees and do everything under one roof. Because of the pandemic, distributed teams emerged and stayed. As a result, many companies prefer to outsource their marketing efforts to agencies in 2023. Digital marketing competition is getting tougher every year, and many business owners prefer to hire experts who will focus solely on creating and implementing effective marketing plans.”
Digital Streaming Is The Next-Gen Advertising
Global enterprises invest in over-the-top (OTT) and connected TV (CTV), which involves digital streaming. Statista projected that the OTT/CTV advertising’s average revenue per user (ARPU) will be USD$52.25 by 2025. This form of advertising isn’t new but will be more powerful in 2023 by integrating programmatic technology and media mix, helping more businesses reach more diverse audiences.
Josh Tyler, the CEO of Giant Freakin Robot, said, “CTV advertising creates a huge audience impact because ads are viewable on full-screen TV through motion videos and mobile devices. Connected TV platforms are now available for businesses to display CTV ads on major apps and networks, such as CNN, ESPN, and Food Network. A CTV platform allows marketers to launch lead-generation campaigns and retarget site visitors to reach audiences with CTV ads.”
“Advertising Video on Demand (AVOD) will be a revenue-generating machine for eCommerce businesses. This OTT advertising model allows viewers to watch videos for free in exchange for viewing ads in between, such as on YouTube. Advertisers can deliver relevant content through Netflix or HBO at their preferred time slots, increasing the likelihood of higher ad views.”, Tyler added.
Personalizing Online Shopping Experience
E-commerce businesses will consider artificial intelligence and machine learning in personalizing customers’ online shopping experiences. Data labeling and human insight can help train machine learning applications to provide customers with more tailored searches and product recommendations.
Kevin Huang, the CEO of Ambient Home, highlighted the emerging technologies that can help personalize shopping experiences in e-commerce stores. He explained, “E-commerce businesses must consider deploying omnichannel or multi-channel strategies to bolster sales. Instead of concentrating on your online store alone, expand your reach on social media. Never underestimate social commerce to prepare your business for the next-gen metaverse or Web 3.0.”
Web 3.0 will enable online users to access their data in a decentralized network. Forbes stated that the rise of social commerce as the next shopping frontier is Web 3.0 in action, wherein its open interconnectivity would make brands easily meet and exceed shopping expectations. Brands can link and access their business operations from an interconnected and decentralized platform.
“Come out of your comfort zone and go the extra mile for your online business. As early as now, businesses must take small steps to embrace omnichannel strategies to prepare for the changes and challenges of the next-generation web.”, Huang added.
Businesses Supporting Worthy Causes
“The recent world health crisis taught many people important lessons in life, including business owners. I’m positive and hopeful for this year because of many business owners I talked to expressing their intention of supporting worthy causes.”, said Sam Tabak, Board Member of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities.
“If you give back to the community, you can boost your business image. This means more prospects and potential sales for your company. Aside from charity work, you can support environmental projects and the call to protect women and children. Businesses can donate a percentage of their sales to benefit victims of calamities and abuses. It’s an excellent way to attract and nurture leads and develop a meaningful relationship with your customers. Such kind gestures leave good long-term impacts on the eyes and hearts of consumers, making your business their preferred choice.”, Tabak further added.
Conclusion
Whether you have a small business, an online store, or an owner of a huge enterprise, remember that change is absolute. Knowing and applying the key lessons of the above trends can help you adapt to the changes and resolve the challenges and problems that will come along the way.