Small Business Trends for 2013

The damages of the 2008 economic and financial crises are still felt even until today. However, businesses have adjusted well and many are experiencing growth. For 2013, a continued moderate growth is expected from small businesses. This outlook is affected by the trends influenced by technological and economic tools. Below are some of these trends:

Cloud and Mobile Devices Rule the World

Apparently, the world is now swarmed with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. From year to year, there is a continuous increase in the number of users of these devices. In the US alone, there are now more than 110 million users of smartphones. This does not include users of other mobile phones such as feature-phones. On the other hand, the tablet was introduced to the market at a later time as compared to smartphones but it is now also gaining popularity across markets.

With the smartphones and tablets being widely used, small businesses have to reconsider this in the way they operate and how they serve their customers. For example, they might want to create a website that is easily viewable on smartphones. In this way, they can reach more prospective customers. They should also consider other technologies such as e-wallets. In this way, customers can have a more convenient option when it comes to payment transactions.

Cloud Services and Storage Space

Since the advent of the Internet, there have been a lot of technological innovations that become very essential or crucial to the operation of small businesses. One great example is the Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP. It is now one of the most advanced and sophisticated phone systems because it has greater functionality and has a wide range of features. All these contribute to a more streamlined, effective and efficient communication system. It has also addressed issues such as flexibility and business mobility. With VoIP and the integration of mobile devices, the access of the phone system has now become very convenient as business people can perform communication actions anytime and anywhere they want.

On the other hand, the need for a more secure and less costly storage for data was also addressed by the cloud technology. Small businesses can now adopt online storage space such as Google Drive or Dropbox. Aside from a bigger space, these also allow for the access of files anywhere and anytime by authorized individuals. This means that the business can choose the people who are only allowed to access certain files.

These are the reasons why for 2013 more and more businesses are going to adopt the cloud technology. Aside from the aforementioned benefits, small businesses also favor the cloud technology as it is inexpensive yet highly powerful. For example, the cloud-based analytical tools and data will definitely give them meaningful insights in so far as competition, markets and customers are concerned.

Mobile Business

For 2013, small businesses and even the large ones are also expected to do the task of going to the customers. Instead of them waiting for the customers to visit them in their huge stores, they will take advantage of the idea of "mobile commerce" as it ensures an increase in sales. Also, it is less expensive, increases customer satisfaction and addresses flexibility.

With the adoption of the appropriate technological tools and implementation of suited marketing strategies, small businesses can definitely ensure a continued growth this year.

Author's Bio:

Michelle Simpson is a full-time professional editor that focuses on online writing services, specialized in the field of technology like RingCentral Virtual PBX, business and current trends in the industry.