Top Three Business Development Trends for 2020

If you are a business owner or a solo entrepreneur, you know how competitive the business world can be. In order to remain profitable and strong, you need to have your finger on the pulse of modern technology and keep up with the latest innovations. 

With that in mind, here are three current trends that are expected to drive business growth in the coming year and beyond.

1. Capturing the Youth Demographic

Older readers may remember a time before the internet, but for younger generations, it's an essential part of everything they do in life. 

As they age and make up more of the consumer market, companies must do their best to relate by moving their marketing to a digital platform. While many businesses may have social media sites established, such as a Facebook page, it requires a comprehensive advertising and content which will connect to the needs and purposes of this growing demographic. 

YouTube has also made digital marketing more accessible to this audience. According to a recent VidMob survey, “59 percent of Gen Z respondents said they use their YouTube app a lot more than they did a year prior,” showing that this market is just getting started.

Video content is your best content to capture the attention of this demographic. 

2. Artificial Intelligence & Chatbots

The artificial-intelligence industry is continuing to grow and will have a significant impact on the world economy in the coming years. even more efficient.” Through the smart use of technology, business and consumers will all benefit. 

Customer Support

The role of AI has changed the way customers are dealt with these days, and it has changed the overall customer experience. Chatbots are the new revolution in customer support. They have brought in many such differences that make them the most suitable solution in the customer service environment. AI-powered chatbots can do various things such as:

• Handle various manual tasks

• Troubleshoot

• Interact with potential customers with essential data

• Help a large number of customers 24x7 without needing a human presence

• Front-line customer engagement

• Help understand actual customer needs to identify complex problems

• Proactively start a conversation with customers

Considering all these features, one can say that artificially intelligent chatbots cater to several responsibilities that small businesses can benefit from. In addition to this, the role of AI in the customer service is also unavoidable because it can also analyze the customer data and come up with powerful insights that further help customize the user experience and make the customer satisfaction level better.  

3. Align Marketing, Content and Sales 

The biggest opportunity for business development overall is outbound. To get the most from your outbound advertising and sales efforts your message, from your content to your sales presentations,  has to be aligned with a clear and coordinated marketing strategy.

It is important that business owners take charge of their marketing strategy, aligning business development and marketing initiatives to drive:

• Brand awareness

• More social followers and email opt-ins

• Lead generation

• Credibility and thought leadership

• Sales conversions 

Moving to a more unified strategy creates consistency in the buyer’s mind. Long customer lifecycles win and customer longevity begins with content marketing and continues in the sales process.

Marketing and outbound sales have to combine for a unified outreach strategy that shows potential customers the value of becoming an actual customer.

Things change, industries shift, and products evolve but at the end of the day it’s about positioning your company and sending the right message.

What do you do differently that sets you apart from your competitors?

Your content marketing efforts should tell that story, and your outbound business development reps should continue the story.

Business development doesn’t stop when a customer signs a contract. Provide support and onboarding services for new customers. Teach them how to use your product. Show them how to get the most value from it.