The business environment is changing rapidly, with technology at the center of everything. Be it the use of social media to facilitate communication or the way businesses facilitate education, technology has advanced like never before. It becomes intriguing to see how the trend will continue in 2021.
Small business owners need to be aware of technology trends that will help them grow further in 2021. Below, we discuss the top six technology trends to look out for in 2021.
Complete mobile experience
It is becoming tough to compete in the business world if your company’s website is not mobile-friendly. Advancements in mobile experience will likely hit greater heights in 2021, with businesses expected to embrace mobile payment methods (in-store and online) and mobile marketing to broaden their customer base.
Data analytics
Data is now one of the most vital aspects of the business. However, the vast amount of information is becoming hard to analyze. Cloud managed services have started to increase, thereby reducing the investment and experience needed to start business operations. Small businesses are expected to turn to data analytics to inform business strategy.
Adoption of Blockchain technology
Privacy and security of transactions are becoming a norm in the business world. Blockchain technology is what many companies turn to, in this case. The advancement and adoption of Cryptocurrency are expected to grow even further in 2021.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning
The concept at the core of AI and machine learning are complex but still in place for adoption by small businesses. AI allows you to device autonomous systems that enhance business operations in every aspect.
Chatbots
Chatbots are part of Artificial Intelligence applied in business to enhance communication. They are integrated into applications like WhatsApp and Facebook to imitate human interactions in these platforms, offering an alternative to the conventional fax from phone communication.
Chatbots have been used to offer customer service support, enable purchases, and provide notifications to customers. Accordingly, they are available 24/7, thereby enhancing convenience.
The growing number of online purchases makes it essential to use chatbots on user-friendly sites and apps to enhance communication and provide timely updates that can improve the customer experience.
Deep analytic tools
As stated above, small businesses often find it overwhelming to deal with a large amount of data derived from operations. The manufacturing sector is even worse. To enhance the supply chain and other company aspects, businesses are turning to big data analytic tools in the place of data scientists.
Google Analytics is one of such technology trends forecasted to grow in 2021 as many small businesses leverage the power of SEOs to drive sales. This is a marketing strategy that helps many business owners evaluate their marketing channels and identify where most leads come from and where improvement is required.
Bottom Line
Every small business is competing to become more efficient and convenient for clients. For small businesses, the focus is often on maintaining costs to the minimum. Technology trends become an integral part of business operation to improve output at a low-cost. 2021 is expected to foresee advancements that might force you to update your technology if you want to stay relevant in the market.
