As we start to wrap up the year, as part of our planning cycle it is the perfect time to look at the 2025 small business trends coming up on the horizon for next year. I have to say that in doing this reasearch and preparation for a recent webinar, there is lots to come next year, with artificial intelligence (AI) underpinning many of the trends. As part of the marketing strategy process when we look at the right activities to help us grow our business, we first need to understand our business landscape.
There are a lot of things going on in the macro world around us from wars in Ukraine and Israel, a recent UK budget, US elections and advancing technologies. Amazingly in China recently a robot completed surgery on a human with the doctor 5,000 miles away.
1. Customer behaviour
Customers are increasingly seeking convenient, faster, flexible services from brands, which are driven by companies such as Amazon and Deliveroo. Newer technology, sustainable products, transparancy and multiple payment options will all be important as we move into 2025.
2. Sustainability
Mintel identifies in their 2025 Global Consumer Trends report that climate change is a significant consideration for consumers in a post COVID world. With the increase in B Corp businesses a brand’s CSR policy, will be important to consumers eg: reducing waste, improving energy efficiency and sustainably sourcing products.
3. Recruiting talent
We have seen a huge movement in the workforce, with employees choosing to work for brands with values that mirror their own. Retaining talent will be a challenge for small businesses as we head into 2025, by offering benefits like mental wellbeing support, flexible hours, and career development opportunities will help.
The retired population have also returned to work for many reasons, but structure, combatting loneliness and mental wellbeing are some key factors. By the opposite end of the spectrum, the younger Gen X audience is seeking clear career progression guidance. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is also slowly starting to impact the job market, with 63% of US adults concerned about how new technology will replace human talent in the future.
4. The use of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is developing at a tremdous rate. It is a set of technologies that enables machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning and problem-solving. It is technology that understands human intent.
The use of AI will become even more essential for small business owners. The advancing technology will help them to save time on tedious admin tasks, reduce costs and enhance the customer experience. The challenge will be in finding budget-conscious alternatives, considering the ethical and IP approach and effectively implementing it into every day use. Tools like Chat GPT, Claude, Gemini or Perplexity are examples of generative AI and can be used to create images or content, but a word of caution, the end result will only be as good as the brief.
We have already started to use AI in many ways to support the customer experience, including:
- Chatbots to manage simple enquiries on a website.
- Alexa and Siri have been used for some time.
- Otter.ai to transcribe meeting notes.
- Ad targeting to help you to serve ads to the right audience.
- Dynamic pricing to maximise revenue, a recent example of this was the Oasis tickets.
5. Changes in social media
The use of social media continues to increase and as of January 24, 5.04 billion people used social media worldwide (62% of the global population). This has grown by 79.1% since 2017, when there were only 2.73 billion users. The average person uses 6.6 different social media platforms, on average for 2hrs 20 mins per day.
The top five globally used social media platforms are: Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram and WeChat. The rise of misinformation is also starting cause concern with examples been seen where this is influencing election results, spreading false information about COVID and the environment. In reaction to these concerns consumers will want to see as we move into 2025 is brands being authentic, we will also see the continued rise of short-form video such as reels, lives, etc.
The impact of AI, has long influenced which ads are served or served content you might think is interesting, but it is now moving into the content creation space. Hootsuite’s research shows that 52% of Marketing Pros plan to use AI in 2025.
6. Personalisation & data
The rise of technologies such as AI will enable marketers to become super personalised in the content they share with their audiences. By analysing large sets of data, businesses also can identify patterns and preferences to predict future behaviours enabling personalised campaigns.
Economic pressures mean that customers seek personalised deals to maximise their spending power as prices increase. As customer encounter more personalised marketing it will increase their willingness to share personal information, meaning interactions will grow, giving the brand a USP.
7. Other thoughts . . .
Connection and community will be important with consumers wanting to feel valued and part of somethiing bigger. Health and wellbeing will continue to be a focus and with increased awareness of health post- pandemic, small businesses that integrate wellness into the workplace can enhance business success.
In conclusion
There will be a lot of factors to consider for small business owners when drafting their 2025 marketing strategy and plans. By using advancing technologies in the right way and being ready to respond to certain things as they change will be important. If you would like some help in creating a robust marketing strategy to take you into 2025 and beyond, get in touch to arrange a no-obligation discovery call.
