2016 is here, and small businesses across the land have already begun putting their plans for the new year into effect. For up-and-coming businesses, knowing how to detect and respond to emergent trends can make the difference between turning a profit and getting stuck in the red. No one has a crystal ball, of course, but it’s possible to make some educated guesses about certain changes in the business world that will transpire over the next 12 months or so.

• Consumers are increasingly using their mobile devices for shopping transactions. This means that your business must be able to accommodate the mobile trend.

• Is your website optimized for mobile screens? If not, it may hurt your bottom line.

• With the steady development of cloud technology, the business world is gradually moving away from office staples such as bulky desktop computers and on-site servers. This means that businesses are expected to be able to do away with much of the expense involved with maintaining in-house IT departments.

• Small business owners owe it to themselves to learn about the cloud and its cost-cutting capabilities.

• With the increasing reliance on the cloud comes increasing vulnerability to cyberattacks targeting this technology. It’s likely that 2016 will see a number of successful high-profile intrusions spearheaded by hackers.

• Small business owners need to ensure that their cybersecurity measures keep pace with trends in cloud technology. That’s because small businesses are the target of 60% of all cybercrimes.1

• Web analytics can be extremely effective in giving business owners insight into their site’s ability to generate conversions.

• Traditionally, however, this kind of software has been very expensive—often beyond the reach of small business owners on tight budgets.

• This is changing quickly, though. As analytics software becomes less expensive and more accessible, small business owners will begin to depend on it more and more.

Enhanced Payment Options

• In 2016, the drift away from a cash-based economy is expected to continue. Small businesses need to be able to offer as many different payment options as they can—Square and Google Apps are just two that have recently appeared.

• Be aware that all payment options must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

• In recent years, the economy has moved away from the traditional full-time, in-house model where employees put in their 40 hours in at the office and then went home. An ever-increasing number of workers are telecommuters or part-time employees.

• Small businesses will have to adapt to this new economy. Sometimes, the ideal employee is one that is unavailable for standard full-time employment.

• Speaking of outsourcing certain positions, a significant number of businesses have discovered the benefits of hiring a third-party organization to handle their call center functions. This is a trend expected to continue through 2016 and beyond.

• A high-quality call center provides a business with 24/7 services at an affordable rate to ensure that customers can get answers to their questions and concerns in a prompt manner.

• Since 1975, Personalized Communications has provided 24/7 call center services to businesses of all sizes. Benefiting from rigorously trained staff and state-of-the-art telecommunications equipment, the company specializes in appointment scheduling, emergency dispatching, and related answering services. The company is headquartered in Duncanville, Texas.

• Please visit www.callcenteragency.com for more information today!

• 1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-strauss/top-5-small-business-tren_b_8942848.html