10 Tech Trends for Small Business in 2022

As of the end of last year, there were 32.5 million small businesses in the United States, which encounter 99,9% of all registered businesses. So far, these are the latest statistics and we can only estimate how many of them have been closed because of the lockdown or other obstacles the market brings, but you can’t deny that the number is impressively large. To stay afloat, they need to be highly dynamic. Something needs to be changed, something needs to be added, something needs to be taken away – just as any living organism works.

Let’s discover 10 business tech trends in 2022 and what to implement for making small businesses more profitable.

1. Try out Hybrid Workforce Technology

Being adaptable is what the current world requires all businesses to do. This is the only chance to keep afloat and not depend on market obstacles. The digital transformation might look variously: from passing manual tasks on machines to applying Artificial Intelligence.  

Considering that mixed workforces are here to stay, workplace culture is still evolving. Business processes should collaborate with purpose-built technological solutions that make hybrid work equitable, present, and inclusive. With augmented and virtual reality generating customized workspaces for employees, immersive training, effective data analysis, and increased productivity, emerging technologies will help drive the expansion of customer service.

2. Encourage Deeper Data Management

Data analytics fits perfectly with AI, which allows these innovations to let organizations gather enormous amounts of data and apply machine learning to interpret that data. Businesses can identify new efficiencies in internal operations or improve the targeting of marketing efforts by using the knowledge they obtain from doing this.

The data you can gather with such management tools will serve you as a catalyst to explore deeper improvements for competitive differentiation. Whether small firms want to use machine learning and data analytics for marketing or find new efficiencies at work - this method will do. And, actually, if planned well, it's not as expensive as you think.

3. Mobile Employee Communication

The primary means of communication between employees are their smartphones. Millennials, the first digitally native generation, now make up over 50% of the entire workforce and by 2025 it forecast them to comprise 75% of the global workforce. This is the generation that focuses on quick reactions and responses, adapting to changing circumstances and resolving the maximum of their requests via smartphones. They live and breathe with phones, so will see your email instantly. They will get a notification about you adding a new meeting to a shared calendar as soon as you click ‘Admit’ and will respond at the speed of light.

It is also worth noting that using applications for internal management, calendars, and documents with open access and general chats allows you to avoid misunderstandings and keep everyone updated. That’s essential for small businesses, where people usually work as a one-man-band.

4. Pay Attention to Cybersecurity

Your company being hacked is the last thing you want to happen. This can lead to the theft of sensitive information about your clients and staff as well as financial loss for your company. Actually, the most awful part is that you can lose the credibility of your customers, and this is definitely not well for the brand.

Even though it is a widespread mistake for start-up companies to overlook cyber security, facing issues afterward they consider taking a step forward it. When it comes to technology, they are so preoccupied with saving money that they at first don't take the time to ensure its safety.

Cyber security issues might not even appear if your site was an all-in-one solution. Usually, the providers of such templates consider needed measurements to the full package. But, if you developed a custom solution - consult your development team on that matter. There are lots of various methods they can offer to you.

Read also: 5 Startup Ideas for App Development in 2022

5. Integrate Cloud Computing

One of the main forces advancing new technologies is cloud computing. The requirement for data storage is expanding as technology becomes more sophisticated and intelligent. Cloud computing can help with this. Small IT companies are choosing cloud computing as a way to protect their data. But that's not just it.

Businesses may access crucial data with cloud computing from any location with an internet connection. This cloud technology can be used to describe a variety of services, including storage, backup, software, and hosting services. So, this is some kind of an all-fit solution. 

6. Decentralized Operations

Decentralization can help an expanding company to grow. This is a general concept, that let you do a lot with your business. For example, decentralization, enables management units to operate as independent entities. This is possible both with agility, but also you can add software systems to let it happen organically. In addition to software that enables you to keep track of your current employees, the hours they put in, and the benefits they make use of, this also includes software for posting open positions, conducting interviews, hiring, and onboarding.

7. Apply CRMs as Centralized Systems

If you still hadn't operated using CRMs, it's a huge loss. While there are systems to help project managers with employee management, CRM will do that with clients. Client management is obviously easier when done online since specific programs offer a full cycle of pipelines, data management, and communication features. All repetitive tasks won't be time-wasteful with the automatization of the sales/marketing process. 

8. Go To E-Commerce

Statista reports that the global E-commerce market will grow to about 5 trillion dollars over the next several years. It means that tons of retailers will move to online stores and marketplaces, and now it’s high time for your business to move in this direction. If you haven’t done it yet, think about creating and promoting your business profile on social media, look for good places for warehouse/-s, think about packaging and posting your products, etc.

This is the most important thing for small businesses to do when brick-and-mortar facilities are in such a precarious position.

9. Take Care Of Tech Representation

Obviously, without a proper website, platform, or app your product won’t even exist for modern people. Online representation of your small business is as important as any other part of brand development. Surely, the development of a custom solution is what your product needs to stand out from the market competition, besides, it needs to be structured according to the most recent trends for mobile apps.

10. Maximum Attention To Client’s Feedback

Checking reviews and feedback is the first step we make when buying goods. According to Fan&Fuel, about 92% of potential buyers will put buying a product online under the question if it doesn’t have feedback. 92%! It’s easy to conclude that a 4-5 stars rating based on a solid number of reviews greatly simplifies everything for the business owner.

Just find a platform that your target audience uses, and collect reviews there. Mostly for the tech market, there are Clutch, GoodFirms, G2, and many others. So, there is definitely something similar for other industries.

For small businesses, this is also a great opportunity to save on marketing activities that usually are quite expensive. And even if marketing tools are correctly implemented, working with feedback is an important part of the entire strategy. When real (and only real!) people recommend your products or services and advocate for your business, that’s the best thing that could happen to it.

The Bottom Line

Adding these trends into your strategy will definitely help your business to stay afloat and keep ahead of the competition. And with the last point, we are more than ready to help!