As 2019 draws to a close it’s important for business owners to be on the front foot when it comes to anticipating what’s in store for next year. Predictions by experts are commonplace in business circles at this time of year and some are more accurate than others.
Our team at Alexander Knight & Co think these five trends are the ones that should be on your radar during 2020.
1) 5G
Mobile connectivity is set to get faster and more reliable with the steady rollout of 5G across the country during 2020. As well as being much faster than previous ‘G’s, it is also set to open up lots of new business opportunities for entrepreneurs. One interesting consequence of the introduction of 5G is that the battery life of mobile phones is now being touted as being up to 10 times longer.
2) Public reviews
Public user-generated reviews will play an increasingly powerful role on your business fortunes during 2020. Google reviews, Facebook reviews and Trustpilot reviews are all being pushed heavily in internet search engines and star ratings will increasingly appear alongside mentions of your business online. It’s important to get a proactive strategy in place now to make sure you are generating plenty of positive online sentiment about your business and encouraging your clients and customers to give you five-star reviews.
3) Remote working
Remote working and collaborative working spaces will continue to increase in popularity. Formerly the preserve of freelancers and one-man bands, SME’s are now seeing the benefits of increased productivity when enabling and empowering their workforce to work from home or in a collaborative working space with other companies. More and more office space will become dedicated to the concept of collaborative working and local authorities in particular will be encouraging this use to fill up vacant buildings on the high street.
4) Going global
Internationalism will be a major focus for businesses of all sizes during 2020. After three years of uncertainty about Brexit, businesses have realised that expanding their international links will stand them in good stead, no matter how things turn out with Brexit. Expect to see more companies developing international connections, launching new offices and agreeing joint ventures with companies across Europe and the rest of the world.
5) Speedy decisions
Faster decision making. Business owners who can make speedy (and correct) decisions will always be the ones who succeed more than the rest. This has always been the case but the trend during 2019 of delaying decisions about expansion, investment, exiting or acquiring new companies may come to an end in 2020. Companies in our own client base at Alexander Knight & Co are planning to make big and bold decisions they feel are right for their business. We predict more corporate transactions next year and we’re excited about what this means for our entrepreneurial client base in the year ahead.
