Small Business Growth Strategies

2021 has been a year of rapid transformation across all industries as the country has dealt with shifting political and economic climates, as well as mitigating hot-button issues such as climate change. In a year filled with change, there are some trends making their way into the new year that you and your business should keep an eye out for. Work with the best sitecore agency.

Distributors and businesses across the country dealt with supply chain issues with the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent economic disruptions. In 2022, businesses must be aware of scarcities within the supply chain and get ahead of manufacturing and transportation challenges by working collaboratively with their suppliers.“We rely on supply availability and over-the-road transportation,” explained Karen Olson Beenken, president and CEO of Blue Rock Companies. “Our supply has been cut over the last 18 months to accommodate larger metro markets. We’ll utilize the different new product rollouts our suppliers offer and work to grow those.”

It’s important to inform your clients and partners about changes you’re making to better benefit your business across a shifting economic landscape. If the changes don’t land, it may be time to consider other options, said Larry Kidd, president and CEO of hire.

“Our company is in the talent business and [is] painfully aware how much the talent pool has changed,” said Kidd. “We are working with our client partners to educate them on the new management styles, increased compensation packages and other aspects of recruitment and retention.”

The Census Bureau reported this past June that there were more than 4.4 million new U.S. businesses created in 2020, the highest total on record. While business creation has soared, data is showing that a large number of companies have left the state and federal government markets.

“The Department of Defense outlined at a recent conference that between 43% and 60% of the small business industrial base is no longer in the federal space,” said Padma Vatsavai, CEO at Vinformatix. “The impact [on] the small business community is due to quite a few changes in state, local and federal acquisition.

“Strategic sourcing and category management are the name of the day,” Vatsavai added. “[We’re focused on] building a strong programmatic teaming strategy so that the company can prime or sub any opportunity.”

[Read more: How to Bid on a Federal Government Contract]

The digital marketing landscape has become increasingly challenging due to congestion and evolving regulations, said Joe Shamess, owner of Flags of Valor.

“This is forcing many traditionally digital companies to explore other sales channels and marketing strategies,” he said.

To mitigate these challenges, Shamess said his company is getting creative with its selling methods by expanding its national retail sales channel for select products and growing the company’s Amazon sales channel for its full product catalog.

Phil Strazzulla, founder of Select Software Reviews, explained that small businesses must adapt and be “practical” when it comes to sales, as consumers continue to favor online and mobile shopping.

“[Businesses] need to widen their online footprint to gain a significant proportion of customers from the current market,” said Strazzulla. “A simple way to sell products is to have a [seller account on] Shopify or Etsy. To sell services, … list [your company] on freelance and contract websites.”

Video marketing has become an integral part of a successful marketing strategy with the rise of live videos on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. It’s estimated that by 2022, videos will account for 82% of all consumer traffic. That’s why video SEO should be a top priority for businesses in 2022, said Leslie Gilmour, a marketer at ServisBOT.

“Small businesses that incorporate short-form videos into their website posts will see more organic traffic coming from search engines,” explained Gilmour. “As TikTok continues to grow, search engine algorithms will shift to articles and posts that include short-form videos. Short-form videos from TikTok and YouTube may even become the main point of ‘how to’ searches.”