2023 outlook:
4 small business
trends to keep
an eye on

With the new year often comes excitement, enthusiasm and new plans for growing your business. To come out on top in 2023, small business owners can stay ahead by closely monitoring the following four trends.

As more and more of your employees and consumers consist of digital-native millennials and Gen Zers, in 2023 your mobile strategy will increasingly become a greater part of your business strategy.

For your employees, you need to simplify how they engage with human resources, finance, and other team members from a smartphone. The easier you make it to clock in, update personal information, collaborate with team members and keep up with corporate communications, the more employees can stay productive.

By the same token, your sales strategy should be driven not just by e-commerce, but by mobile specifically. Optimize the shopping experience for mobile by improving your page loading time, reducing unnecessary content, making buttons easier to tap and including more images. In addition, make it simple to pay with mobile by offering one-step checkout and the ability to pay with digital payment methods such as Apple Pay, Venmo and PayPal.

Instead of returning to the office full-time, more than half of full-time employees now work in a hybrid workplace that lets them work part of the week at home. To support hybrid work in 2023, employers will need to provide the structure and technology necessary to help employees work equally effectively at home and in the office.

One thing to take a close look at is your hybrid work policies. By setting clear expectations early, such as how many and which days employees are expected to come in, managers can promote employee effectiveness and productivity on their in-office days. Consider designating specific days for teams or even the entire workforce to be on-site to make it easier to schedule meetings and conduct team-building exercises.

Small businesses also need to ensure that they have the technology in place to foster collaboration no matter where an employee is working. Video conferencing software, a unified communications platform, mobile devices and 5G Business Internet help employees connect with each other.

According to the Verizon 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), there was a 13% increase in ransomware breaches in the last year—more than in the last five years combined. What's more, 82% of breaches involved a human element, with social engineering implicated in 20% of the breaches.

While small businesses must leverage cyber security technology to protect their network and devices from attack, keep in mind that your people are often your largest vulnerability. Work to raise employee awareness about phishing, ransomware and other attack types so employees know what to do, what to watch for and what to avoid. By providing specific, ongoing training about the threats and vulnerabilities facing your organization, you can help give employees the tools they need to do their part in keeping your business safe.

Many small businesses struggled throughout 2022 to attract and retain staff in the face of record-low unemployment rates. With the job market projected to remain strong for the foreseeable future, employers need to do everything they can to create an employee experience that helps keep employees happy.

In addition to offering competitive pay and benefits, small businesses can compete for employees by building a company culture that is engaging, supportive and rewarding. One way to do this is to introduce automation to help reduce the burden of repetitive, manual work processes. By using technology to take away the boring, unengaging work that employees hate, you can free them up to focus on more rewarding work. Not only does this capitalize on the value they provide your business while improving overall productivity, but it also helps boost their engagement and overall morale.