For business owners, keeping one eye on the future can help you better navigate challenges, identify opportunities, and plan for the outcomes you want to see. There are tons of different things to consider when planning the future for your small business. So check out these tips from members of the online small business community to start planning ahead.
Prepare for Voice Search and Answer Engines
Voice search is becoming increasingly prevalent among consumers. So businesses that want to keep up will need to adjust their search marketing strategies. In this UpCity post, Jason Randall offers tips for getting started.
Help Clients Who Are Worried About a Recession
There are a lot of businesses that are concerned about the potential impact of a recession. For companies that work with these clients, especially accounting firms, planning for the future is a must. Learn more in this CorpNet post by Nellie Akalp.
Listen to These Inspiring Podcasts
The media you consume can help to inspire and inform your business journey as you grow. In this 9ijalazy post, Constance Chinaza lists several inspiring podcasts mainly from women in business. And members of the BizSugar community chimed in with thoughts here.
Consider The Major Obstacles Encountered by B2B Content Marketers
A big part of planning for the future of any business is looking at what obstacles may come up along the way. If you run a B2B business, content marketing can be an effective strategy. But there are some potential issues that may arise, like those included in this Content Marketing Institute post by David McGuire.
Diversify Your Content
Some businesses get stuck creating the same type of content over and over again. But that isn’t usually an effective long-term strategy. To sustain your marketing efforts, Gary Shouldis of 3Bug Media outlines five different types of content for business owners in this post.
Successfully Execute New Strategies
Throughout the life of your business, you’re going to need to adjust and come up with new strategies. To make sure those strategies are as effective as possible, Ivan Widjaya of Noobpreneur offers tips and tricks in this blog post.
Choose What to Automate with Machine Learning
Machine learning is making a major impact on a variety of industries. It can help you automate certain tasks around your business. But knowing what tasks to choose can be a challenge. Stephen H. Yu discusses in this Target Marketing post.
Learn These Basic Goal Setting Principles
Goal setting is a huge part of planning the future for a business. If you need help setting your business goals, it may help to go back to the basics. Theo Poulentzas shares some essential principles in this post. And the BizSugar community shared additional thoughts here.
Consider Why Franchises Go Out of Business
Small business owners generally want to avoid going out of business. But it does happen to a lot of companies. If you’re thinking about running a franchise business, it’s a good idea to learn the common causes of failure before jumping in. Joel Libava of The Franchise King elaborates in this post.
Find Your SEO Focus by Looking Back
Google regularly updates its algorithms to make the search experience better. It’s impossible to know exactly what future updates will entail, but you can gain some potential insights by looking at what they’ve focused on in the past. Read this Search Engine Land post by Barry Schwartz for full analysis.
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This article, “10 Tips for Planning the Future of Your Small Business” was first published on Small Business Trends