It’s already March, why are we talking about business tech trends now? Back in December, we didn’t want to assume what the business trends would look like in 2019. Remember what your mom said about what happens when you assume? Exactly. We waited until the end of Q1 to get a firm understanding of what tech trends will be here to stay in 2019 and which trends are going to influence businesses increasingly throughout the year.
There are some great trends to follow in here so get your notepad.
1 – Software Unification
Phone and CRM integration is the name of the game. It seems we are finally reaching a point where software solutions are playing nice and finding ways to integrate seamlessly. The issue is we are getting bogged down with new business technology, apps, portals, and CRMs. No one wants more apps on their phone, unless these apps are going to make daily business management EASIER.
Software unification is fast becoming the next big thing in the tech industry. The most common software unifications are those that integrate internal and external communication with project management. CRMs and phone systems are taking part in this union more and more recently, a match made in business heaven. These are particularly viable through the help of VoIP providers who are positioned to make this integration fast and affordable without interrupting business.
Some of the advantages of built-in CRM features include:
- Note Sharing
- Inbound and outbound call tracking
- Activity tracking, event scheduling, and integrated message alerts
- One app or portal to access all information from anywhere
- Phone number rules – transfer important customers to designated phone numbers
- Designate clients to tiers of opportunity and assign them to team members
- Attach a file, such as a quote or contract, to a potential client
These are just some of the most popular and useful CRM integration features we are seeing in 2019. Another business tech trend that will completely change the way we do business.
2 – Paid Social Media
Ever heard of a Pixel? How about a lookalike audience? One is a powerful tool to collect data and the other is a powerful way to target potential clients who are already qualified to want, need, and go crazy for your products and/or services.
Though not necessarily a new business technology, both Pixel and a lookalike audience are extremely effective arts for finding new clients for yourself and they are going to be more than necessary if you want to increase awareness, and ultimately profits, in 2019. Both business tech trends can be found making waves on Facebook!
- Pixel
Most of us are familiar with cookies. Websites will store encrypted data on your computer that will improve your interaction with their site. For example, if you have ever saved a password or login information for Facebook, that data sits in an encrypted file on your computer and Facebook reads that file and lets you in.
A pixel is a cookie-reading program that sits on your website and reads the cookies of potential clients who visit your site. So, when you add a Facebook Pixel to your business website, it will read the Facebook cookies of people who come to your site.
After a while, it begins to see a pattern. It will understand that people who come to your site and make purchases, well they all have similar interests, behaviors, life events, and are part of the same demographic. You can then use that info to create a lookalike audience!
- Lookalike Audience
Now that you have all that information collected and analyzed by Facebook’s A.I. algorithm, you can create a lookalike audience. You will tell Facebook to find people who are 99% similar to the audience who already comes to your business website to purchase (the data that is collected in the Facebook Pixel).
This means that Facebook will go out and serve your ads to people who are so similar to people who have already bought from you – now your success rate of converting that lookalike audience is very high. This ain’t cold calling, this ain’t even warm calling. This is next level A.I. Skynet, Client Targeting.
Now before you get a little nervous, remember that none of your client information is EVER shared with you. Facebook does keep that quiet.
If you begin to get a little paranoid about suspiciously effective adds on Facebook and Instagram…well now you know why. And you can use it too! This is technology needed for a business in the 21st century. If your competitors aren’t already there, they are figuring it out right now.
3 – Local SEO
We are going to move from a paid advertising approach to an organic approach and that’s exactly what SEO entails. It stands for search engine optimization and it’s the best way to get yourself to rank in search engine results pages (SERPs) on Google, Bing, and anything else that’s left trying to fight those two giants.
Local SEO is a niche form of optimization that is the next big business tech trend in 2019 which focuses on geotargeting.
Geotargeting refers to SEO that focuses on a very specific area, hence it is a big part of local SEO. You want to optimize your site so it can be found by potential clients that are local. The following guidelines are just the tip of the iceberg:
- Ensure your Google My Business listing is fully optimized. This is easy. Just ensure that every single empty field is completely filled out. Also add all the areas you want to target in your “areas services” section.
- Create web pages to target every area you service. These pages should mention these areas often and include your address and contact info.
- Be sure to add your website to local directories such as Yelp, Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, Manta, etc.
This should get you started!
4 – Client Texting
Clients are turning to text messages more and more and 2019 will only see the trend increase. Software to text clients exist and is so much more than your standard iMessage or SMS service.
With the excellent features of our SMS, you are able to:
- Track conversation history
- Increase efficiency by sending group texts
- Receive text inquires through your main business number
- Assign a text message conversation to a team member
- Increase open rate (no more phone calls and waiting for email responses)
- Keep written proof
It’s not just Millennials, Gen X and even Boomers are turning to texts more and more. The advantage of early adoption also sets you a part from the competition so consider this business tech trend sooner rather than later.
5 – Chatbots
Did you cringe or get a shiver down your spine? Us too. The sword chatbot has a connation related to an uncaring, profit-hungry corporation that would rather you struggle than pay someone minimum wage to have a real human help you. For many years chatbots were considered one of the circles in customer service hell, somewhere between terrible hold music and call-dropping.
But this technology has come leaps and bounds and is fast becoming a PREFERED method of customer communication. Scripts are far more advanced and chatbots are reaching levels that people could not. Some Facebook chatbots even aid in sales, guiding the customer through an order using canned responses and taking all relevant information from start to finish.
This is not the chatbots you remember from the early 2010s. This is something far more helpful.
Did we cover all the relevant business tech trends for 2019 or did we miss something? Comment below and let us know what new and old tech will be at the forefront of business development in 2019.
