As we start 2012, we thought it would be good to gather a few perspectives on what the upcoming year has in store for private business owners. From major corporations to small startups, CEOs expect to see better opportunities in 2012.
Executives Expect Revenue Growth In 2012
Attendees of major Fortune conferences are confident that revenues will grow in 2012 even if few expect to hire more help. Fortune recently surveyed 2,000 executives that attended Brainstorm Green, Brainstorm Tech, and the Fortune MPW Summit about their 2012 business predictions.
Of the executives that responded, 78% expect their companies’ revenues to increase. But their optimism is not limited to individual companies – 73% anticipate that their industry will experience growth as well.
The best news for North American residents is that 51% of respondents expect this growth to occur fastest in the U.S. and Canada as opposed to the 4% who think Europe will provide the fastest growth.
Small Business Predictions for 2012
Jerry Nettuno, founder and CEO of Schedulicity (an online appointment tool used by businesses), created a list of 10 small business predictions for 2012.
Among the top 10, Nettuno expects the client to remain king. The importance of great customer service has been underscored by the turbulent economy. Even though this could change in the next year, smart businesses will need to continue providing superior customer service, going above and beyond expectations.
Technological Advances
Nettuno also says you can expect technological advances to create more productivity tools, which will increase efficiency and hopefully revenues along with it.
Along those lines, he expects mobile commerce to continue soaring. As we’ve already examined, ecommerce generated close to $42 billion in retail sales in the third quarter of 2010. While mobile commerce specifically doesn’t have those numbers yet, as the smart phone movement picks up, mobile commerce is sure to increase.
Another CEO, Mark Hall of Remixation (the company that developed the app ShowYou), predicts that “by the end of 2012, over 100 million people will have tablets in their homes (iPads primarily, lots of Kindle Fires, too).”
What does this mean for private business owners? First, creating a mobile friendly website needs to be top priority. This also allows for new opportunities in terms of how customers interact with your company online and could spawn new products or services. Second, you need to create an online strategy to take advantage of these new technological advances. Either do this in-house or hire a web company to assist you.
What do you expect out of 2012?