Are you on top of the latest business trends? You’d better be! It’s crucial to ensure that you are always relevant and continuously connect with your target demographic. The fast-paced world seems to give birth to trends left and right, and some may just be fads, but keeping up with them will show you the mindset of consumers and what they are looking for. You will then be able to adjust your strategies and keep your pipeline flowing consistently.

Stay on top of trends and get the support to keep up with the flexibility to meet your consumers’ needs with a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant! Book your Double My Business Strategy Session today to find out how!

Here are four sales trends you need to know to dominate 2020.

#1 Focus on top-notch customer experience

According to statistics, 89% of consumers began doing business because of a poor previous customer experience. This means that they went elsewhere because they had a bad experience somewhere and searched for something better. Furthermore, statistics also show that 64% of consumers check reviews online before visiting a business. That being said, 2020 will be a year for laser focus on consumer experience. Having multiple options due to the rise of more businesses will cause consumers to be more particular to find exactly what they need.

So what does a better customer experience look like? Here are some factors to consider, based on consumer behavior studies:

• Surveys revealed that 60% of customers feel that waiting on hold for just one minute is too long.
• 92% of consumers read online reviews while looking for a local business.
• A minimum of 10 and 12 positive reviews is needed to make up for one negative review.

Giving your customers a tailored, positive experience will not only guarantee repeat business but referrals as well. Fostering this opportunity to generate positive reviews and even rewarding loyal customers can do heaps of good for your business. Another major factor is having more knowledgeable sales reps or team members who will truly make your customer feel well cared for. Finding people who are focused on making a sale and prioritizing making a real connection can make a huge difference in the whole customer experience.

#2  Sales Enablement

Sales enablement is the development of providing a sales organization a process where they can gather information and help salespeople sell more effectively. The roots of sales enablement provide salespeople with processes and tools to build connections with a consumer throughout the buying process successfully. A huge part of sales enablement requires equipping salespeople with data that they can use in sales cycles. This information might look like customer-facing scripts, best practices, and sales training to name a few. Whatever form the information is in, it must be easy to consume and sustainable across the sales organization.

Sales enablement is a key factor in scaling the sales organization. It transforms a sales organization with a handful of overachievers into a reliable business with a team of rock stars.  It is fundamentally an effort to establish the principles of a successful salesperson.

Modern business owners are increasingly adopting sales enablement strategies, which will certainly continue in 2020. To stay on top of this trend, take the time to plan out a sales enablement strategy, from helping to onboard new salespeople as efficiently as possible to consistent coaching to your existing salespeople.

#3 Understanding Generation Z

Generation Z often takes a backseat to millennials as their buying power increases makes them a more appealing target demographic. However, Gen Z should get just as much attention because their buying power is just as ripe with potential. According to statistics, Gen Z currently accounts for approximately $29 – $143 billion in direct spending. Generation Z comprises the people who were born between the mid-’90s to the mid-2000s. Generation Z was born in an era where the transition of technology and the birth of social media happened. This means that there is a healthy mix of appreciation for both the traditional and the new. As a result, Gen Z can be a challenge to target. According to studies, Gen Z has an attention span of about 8 seconds—compared to the millennials’ 12. However, this is matched with a sophisticated filter that comes from growing up in a different era.

This year, Gen Z is expected to account for 40% of all customers. Even more astounding, one expert says, “Generation Z is one of the most powerful consumer forces in the market today. Their buying power is $44 billion and expands to $600 billion when considering their parents’ influence on their parents’ spending.  To tap into this demographic, you need to be aware of what makes them tick and what appeals to them. They generally gravitate towards authenticity and genuine connections. Do this, and you will find business opportunities that you will not find with any other demographic.

#4 The Omnichannel Marketing Strategy

Omnichannel marketing is one of the strategies you can employ to tap into the ever tricky Generation Z without alienating your other demographics. Omnichannel intends to use all of your marketing channels and platforms, both traditional and digital, in-store and online, to produce a unified experience for your consumers. So what is the difference between multichannel omnichannel? While both strategies employ the utilization of different platforms to target demographics, omnichannel is more consumer-centric as opposed to multichannel, which is focused on company branding. Multichannel marketing pushes the ‘what’ meaning of their branding and sends the same message to consumers regardless of the platform. At the same time, the omnichannel strategy is focused on who is getting the message and changes and adapts to the specific audience they may have depending on which platform it is being broadcast and how consumers interact with this specific platform.

According to studies, customers respond much better to an omnichannel marketing strategy. For example, for marketers using three platforms or more in their campaigns, omnichannel campaigns earned 18.96% engagement, compared to marketers using single-channel campaigns, which only received 5.4%. While higher engagement does not always mean higher revenue, these studies further found that businesses using omnichannel campaigns also saw a 250% increase in purchase rate.

These are some of the sales trends you will see in 2020. Improving your sales productivity and processes should be at the top of your priority list.

Staying on top of these trends and integrating them into your business processes will not be easy and maybe damn near impossible if you do not have a solid support system and the team behind you. A MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant can play a key role in ensuring that you can find trends that will work for your business and build processes for integration. Be sure to schedule your Double My Business Strategy Session to find out how.