19 Dec Business trends for 2017 by Joseph Ashford
2016 has been a great year, but as always we must look to the future as it is only just beginning. 2017 may be a short while away, but it is best to head into the New Year with the best possible start. Being aware of key business trends 2017 will be invaluable for you and your business’ growth. We sat down with our marketing guru Joseph Ashford to talk more about his thoughts on these trends.
Is your approach right? Find out now before investing in 2017 business trends
Any real business owner has to keep one eye on the future while putting in the hours. Joseph Ashford has noted that while many business owners put in the hard-work, they are not always successful something which he attributes to a lack of foresight.
“Hard work and luck can only carry you so far,” stated Joe Ashford in one of our latest interviews. He later expanded this point and argued that business owners very often fail as they are not looking into the future but doing what is okay for right now.
Before getting into the New Year and researching trends, Joseph Ashford believes that you must analyse first your mindset and then go forth in achieving your dreams!
Key business trends for 2017
If you read our previous article, we sat down with Joseph Ashford and asked for his thoughts on business trends for 2017. With over 20 years of experience in business at all levels, his insights are second-to-none.
Crowd funding
Unless you have lived under a rock, you will be familiar with the concept of crowd funding and may have even donated to a crowd funding project. The principle behind crowd funding is very simple and it relies on large amounts of people donating money (generally with some incentive given). Joe Ashford is a believer in crowd funding as it has been used to provide funds for many business ideas.
To really get on board with crowdfunding and to ensure that your project is successful, Joseph Ashford pointed that out you must have a sound project proposal. On top of this, how you market your proposal is ESSENTIAL otherwise, your project will be doomed to failure. Incentives and regular information for the investors will pay off in the long-run.
Video content
You are probably aware that video content is becoming more popular and it is set to become very powerful for businesses. Joseph Ashford has carefully monitored video content as he is himself a visual learner who finds videos extremely useful. The reason he has earmarked video content to be a rising star is due to the overarching popularity of video and how this has not stopped or dived at any time.
Joe Ashford believes that small businesses should find ways to include video content with a stress on quality than quantity as always. There are many ways in which a video can be used to enhance or supplement your existing reputation with the emphasis being left to you. To help you think how videos can be used, Joseph Ashford has come up with some ideas:
- Blogs
- Promotions
- Advertise a new service
- A portfolio item
Web presence
Do you have a website? If you have answered no to this then Joseph Ashford suggests you get one ASAP but not any-old website. Your website is a representation of your business and while the initial costs may be huge, you need to offset this against the amount of business that this could bring in for your business. “A website is today’s Yellow Pages”, said Joe Ashford in our discussion.
Conclusion
Joseph Ashford believes that 2017 will be an exciting but trying year for businesses. The marketing trends he believes will have a great impact that could spell exciting times if businesses seize the day. Now to leave you with choice words, Joseph Ashford requested that we write up his favourite quotation from a very wise man: He who dares wins.