In a digital age, change is happening faster than ever before and the language and geographic barriers that once provided business owners with a protected market, no longer exist.

You are no longer just competing with brands in your country or market, your competitors are global. The great news is that your clients are also global. The opportunities are bigger than ever.

To take advantage of them this year, I have decided to share with you four trends you should not ignore and definitely leverage in 2020.

 

#1 PERSONALIZATION

In a digital and mass-market age, people are craving for human interaction and personalized experiences. Small brands are in a great position to capitalize on this market desire and should focus on offering more bespoke services.

Tailored experiences and human touch are big selling points. Even big hotel chains have jumped on this trend. Recently when I booked my stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in Indonesia, I received a WhatsApp message from the guest services manager to welcome me and ask what else I would require for my stay. It wasn’t an email but a WhatsApp message that felt and was personal, making the experience even more amazing.

Often the smallest gesture can leave the biggest impression on your clients and prospects. A hand-written note or voice note. This year, you should really be thinking of ways to add personal touches that make your prospects and clients feel seen and appreciated and to also tailor services to meet their needs.

 

#2 FORTIFYING YOUR DISTINCT ADVANTAGE

The age of having a competitive advantage because you have a great product or system doesn’t last very long. Everyone can copy everything. We live in a time where technologies and product development costs are lower and easily accessible for others to replicate.

The only thing that will be your strongest competitive advantage is your brand. Don’t just focus on selling products and services. Focus on building a brand. While selling and hitting certain revenue goals is key to success, the way you will increase your net worth without working harder is to build a brand.

The Kardashians, Michael Jordan, David Beckham, blogger Chiara Ferragni are all brands. When they put products on the market they sell because of the brand not the product. In an influencer age, we see trends moving towards more influencers capitalizing on their brand to sell products. This means that businesses and brand owners must build their own influence.

You can build your influence by building a personal or corporate brand and leveraging your I.T. Factor™. Otherwise, you will always have to hustle to sell. Without a brand, other revenue streams like endorsement deals, licensing opportunities, and sponsorships are not easy to tap into. 2020 is the year to build your brand. Be the business and brand.

#3 VISUAL CONTENT

In 2020, the more visual your content the better. Our brains can process visuals 60,000 times faster than text and 65% of people are visual learners. You will want to ensure that you have great imagery that tells stories in 2020.

Also, the key is using colored visuals to increase your audience’s desire to read your content. Post with images product 180% more engagement.

Another important visual trend is video. Research shows that people 85% more likely to buy after watching a video for the product or service. So this year, if you have been thinking about getting on Youtube or hosting more Facebook Lives, this is the time to start. It will help with increasing your visibility and growing your brand this year.

 

 

 

#4 KEEP IT FRESH

The fashion industry is usually a great indicator of changes in consumer world-view.

Traditionally, fashion brands launched three to four collections per year, today these brands are forced to change their production cycles with some brands releasing new styles every week.

This is to say that consumers are increasingly demanding fresh and new. Your brand will need to keep it fresh in 2020. Release new content or old content in new ways. Create irresistible new offers or old offers with new features.

Also staying on top of the trends, happenings and aligning with the shift in social values and a need for sustainable features will be key. Even if you have a service-based brand, you can align your brand with a social cause or sustainable practice.

I hope that these four tips will help you steer your brand on the right course in 2020. Our atelier has several services that can help you elevate your brand image, create more powerful messages and align your brand with the changes in the consumer world-view to grow your revenue in 2020.

Discover our bespoke services that you can access from anywhere in the world to build your world-class brand and life styled for freedom at www.hannafitz.com