Alice

At this time of year predictions for the business future will be winging around the ether, internet, cyberspace or whatever you want to call it, and they are as varied as their subject matter.

But these are the main factors that have reared their heads higher then the rest:

Mobile marketing will take off as more and more people acquire and use smart phones. Is your business and website mobile-ready? Have you adjusted your marketing strategies to accommodate the customer on the move?

Social networking sites will thrive, in particular Twitter and Facebook, though others like YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr and the like will all make their mark. Have you got an established presence on these sites yet? Are you using video, podcasts and other interactive technologies? If so, how much activity have you done on there recently?

Location based services combined with geo-location tagging will come to the fore. Those who haven?t explored applications such as Foursquare need to start now. Businesses need to start building their branded online communities with their followers, let alone their own social network with their customers (easily accomplished through your blog).

Social media will change the concept of marketing delivery. Improved awareness of customer needs will enable focused immediate offers to individuals within specific locations (mobile alerts when passing particular stores) with real-time demand (discounts available there now).

Advocacy will increase as the concept of building your follower-base gathers pace. Encourage sharing of issues and ideas ? in fact any kind of interaction between past, present and prospective customers, even your competitors, will help increase awareness of need and its solution.  People buy from people, not faceless adverts.

What are your predictions for success in 2011?