{"id":1397,"date":"2018-01-31T15:16:46","date_gmt":"2018-01-31T23:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.checkworks.com\/blog\/?p=1397"},"modified":"2018-01-31T15:16:46","modified_gmt":"2018-01-31T23:16:46","slug":"how-to-explode-your-business-growth-with-2018s-hottest-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/how-to-explode-your-business-growth-with-2018s-hottest-trends\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Explode Your Business Growth With 2018’s Hottest Trends"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By MJ Plaster<\/p>\n

Traders live and die by the trend. \u201cThe trend is your friend,\u201d they say. Amateur traders who become emotionally attached to a stock hang on too long, just as stubborn business owners hang on to something \u201cthey\u2019ve always done\u201d instead of reading the tea leaves and adjusting to meet emerging business conditions.<\/p>\n

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No one likes change, especially the disruptive variety, but in business, you adapt or die. Business owners who watch trends and adapt to a change early in the life cycle can start to capitalize on gains before a trend peaks and begins to roll over.<\/p>\n

Generational Shift<\/strong>
\nFor decades, the money has flowed from the Baby Boomers. Now, the Millennials have come of age, both in the workplace and as the target demographic market. It seems like an overnight move because the shift has been occurring quietly and incrementally over years. We\u2019ve reached the point where it can no longer be denied. The new generation will force many of the changes below, so it\u2019s time to recognize the shift and get on board.<\/p>\n

Simplify!<\/strong>
\nWhat does \u201cadded value\u201d really mean? No one seems to know. It\u2019s a throwaway phrase\u2014”marketingspeak.\u201d Instead of adding value, let\u2019s turn the concept on its head and look at removing obstacles. Revert to the KISS Method\u2014keep it simple stupid. Make it easy for your customers to interact and do business with you. There is nothing more frustrating to customers than to call a support line, receive a recorded message that instructs them to send an email, only to receive an email reply that says, \u201cWe\u2019ll get back to you in 48 hours.\u201d That\u2019s unacceptable.<\/p>\n

Last week, I needed to buy a specific, specialized book for a gift. Amazon wanted $65\u2014a non-starter. I discovered the author sells the book for a one-quarter the price, but he\u2019s not set up for online sales. I had to email my order to him, wait for him to create a PayPal invoice, keep checking my email for notification and then send the payment. The process took two full days, and because I needed the book yesterday, I had to add Priority shipping fees. I never would have bought the book as an impulse buy because, like your customers, I\u2019m busy. If you don\u2019t make it easy for me to buy what I want right now, you will usually lose the sale.<\/p>\n

Personalize Marketing<\/strong>
\nFocus on quality over quantity. People don\u2019t have time to read articles that don\u2019t offer practical advice. Pepper your content with real stories because they bring content to life. People relate to stories. They say to themselves, \u201cWow, do I understand that! I\u2019ve been there, done that and I\u2019ve got the T-shirt. This company speaks to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every morning I receive an email from Dr. Mercola. He summarizes his daily articles and provides a link to each of them as illustrated below. I know immediately if I want to visit the site and read them. He makes interaction simple.<\/p>\n

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I read his site religiously for years before purchasing the first item. Now I\u2019m a VIP customer, and I order from him once a month without fail, spending four figures a year. But the company developed a relationship with me first, and I trust his products. He does everything with his customers in mind. When something goes wrong, it\u2019s immediately remedied.<\/p>\n

In short, connect first and sell second. Develop the relationship before issuing a call to action. And use technology to simplify your workload.<\/p>\n

Use Effective Social Media<\/strong>
\nThis is the one area that could bring pushback from the Millennials. LinkedIn is the go-to social media for B2B marketing, not Facebook. They live and die by Facebook, but B2B interactions don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

The External Referral Traffic to Parse.ly’s Customers graph<\/a> shows a severe drop-off in users clicking external links from within Facebook. Businesses do not troll Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for services and products or to stay current on business happenings. Those social media sites are geared more toward educating target B2C markets, according to Entrepreneur.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn\u2019s content, however, it geared strictly to the business user. It covers myriad business topics, and you can submit your own content. If you are a B2B marketer, LinkedIn is the place to be. Media companies, even small ones, rely on Twitter to push news to their audiences.<\/p>\n

Begin the Move to Cryptocurrencies<\/strong>
\nYou don\u2019t understand bitcoin and cryptocurrencies? Neither do I, so I can\u2019t help you get started\u2014yet. But after seeing more than a few large<\/a> and small<\/a> companies moving to accept bitcoin, it\u2019s high time you and I took a second look at them. Now that the target demographic has switched, you\u2019re dealing with a group that doesn’t have a dime of fiat money in their wallets. They make payment electronically, and increasingly, they transact in bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n

When Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan changes his tune from \u201cBitcoin is a fraud\u201d to \u201c \u201cthe blockchain is real,\u201d and admits the change to CNBC<\/a>, you know the shift has started, and it\u2019s time to get with the program.<\/p>\n

Search the internet to familiarize yourself with \u201ccryptocurrencies,\u201d \u201cblockchain\u201d and \u201cBitcoin.\u201d Corner your Millennial employees and pick their brains. They\u2019re a goldmine of information on emerging technologies, and they love to share their knowledge.<\/p>\n

Acknowledge Employee Worth<\/strong>
\nEver since the first MBAs came online in the 1980s, employees have been treated as commodities. So, it came as a surprise when employers began to share the fruits of tax reform in the manner they have\u2014even before they benefited from what\u2019s to come. Many have given bonuses ranging from $500\u2013$3,000 to employees, and some have also given them raises. This did not happen the last time companies were enticed to bring money back from offshore. Why is this time different? Businesses have reasons to be optimistic, and the monetary windfalls are an expression of that optimism.<\/p>\n

However, money is not everything. In fact; it doesn\u2019t rank at the top of the employee wish list. Recognition is even more important than money, but everyone is thrilled when they receive a bonus, especially an unexpected one.<\/p>\n

Engage Your Employees<\/strong>
\nRepeated turnover in a small business is deadly. Remaining employees wonder if they should float their resumes, and they aren\u2019t happy about taking on extra work until a suitable replacement is found. It\u2019s easier and more cost-effective to engage your employees. Give them kudos for a job well done. For a job that falls short of your expectations, tell them you are sure they will learn from the experience, and you look forward to seeing their next project completed.<\/p>\n

Millennials want to feel they are a valued part of the company. They want to feel that they\u2019re doing good through their work. Successful businesses realize this and accommodate these attitudes. They engage their employees and treat them well. Engaged employees are happy employees, and customers pick up on it.<\/p>\n

Millennials bring fresh air to a stale atmosphere. Mine their knowledge, experiences and views. The winds of change are blowing and getting swept up in the trend is better for you and your company than fighting it tooth and nail. If you do, you\u2019re handing your edge to the competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By MJ Plaster Traders live and die by the trend. \u201cThe trend is your friend,\u201d they say. Amateur traders who become emotionally attached to a stock hang on too long, just as stubborn business owners hang on to something \u201cthey\u2019ve always done\u201d instead of reading the tea leaves and adjusting to meet emerging business conditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1397"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1397"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1402,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1397\/revisions\/1402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}