5 Things Every Small Business Should Be Doing This Year If your small business is going to survive and thrive in 2023, there are specific things you need to be doing.

As your small business works through the first quarter, you may be looking at previous strategies and methods to see which were successful and which will be left in 2022.

That's how most businesses start the year off, right? However, this year, there are a few more unknowns. We've been warned that a recession is right around the corner. And while technically we may not be in one, a lot of businesses have felt the impact of sales slowing down and revenue taking a hit.

It may seem like this year is starting off on shaky ground, but don't let that scare you away from trying new strategies or investing in certain tactics. There are definite things your small business can be doing to ensure there are fewer unknowns and more successes this year.

Related: How to Fund Your Budding Small Business During a Recession

1. Investing in marketing

When things get tough, businesses resort to scaling back. Unfortunately, marketing is the first strategy to get the axe. This is a huge mistake.

Your marketing tactics are what get you seen and in front of potential buyers. When you scale back these efforts, you let your competitors own the playing field, and your brand disappears into the background.

Instead, you should be investing in your marketing. Getting brand exposure is what's going to help you generate new leads and revenue, so make sure you have a plan mapped out.

• Create online ads and focus on channels that have been successful in the past. If you've seen a ton of high-quality leads come from your Facebook ads, then increase your efforts there.
• Create high-quality blog posts so site visitors have content to engage with and absorb when they click on your website.
• Encourage visitors to sign up for your email marketing by adding online forms to your website that will capture lead data.
• Create an email nurture strategy so you can send personalized, helpful resources to your new leads and eventually convert them into customers.

Related: 3 Questions to Answer Before Investing More Into Your Marketing Budget

2. Automating marketing

Some businesses have had to scale back on employees in order to ensure their profit margins stay healthy. This means there are fewer hands to get stuff done, which could result in strategies getting left at the starting line.

If you find yourself having to work with a nimble team, then you should consider investing in marketing automation software. Automation ensures you're nurturing and reaching out to your leads, even while you're busy getting other tasks done. Marketing automation tools serve as an additional (or more) team member that's hard at work behind the scenes, so you don't have to stare at a to-do list that just keeps getting longer.

When looking for a marketing automation tool, make sure you keep an eye out for these features:

• A customer relationship management (CRM) software so you can keep track of all your customers and prospects
• A marketing and sales dashboard, which will create transparency and unity in efforts
• Email marketing and drip campaign creation so you can nurture cold leads toward a sale
• Landing page and pop-up creation to capture leads on-site

3. Using content-generating AI

AI continues to make moves in almost every aspect of business. And if you're looking for even more ways to work smarter, not harder, then you should be looking into content-generating AI tools.

Content marketing has been on the scene for a while now. Most people not only know what it is but are using it strategically to bring people to their site, engage with them and convert them. While it's great that content is being used effectively, it also means that it is everywhere. It's extremely hard to create content that is truly unique, and it can cause a lot of marketers to develop a sudden case of writer's block.

AI tools are great because they take the guesswork out of content creation. All you have to do is feed your content creation tool some ideas or direction and then watch as it works its magic. I do recommend checking the results to ensure the right one is there, it flows well and there are no grammatical issues.

4. Collecting first-party data

Up until recently, many marketers relied on third-party data collection for gathering insights into their audiences. Since the majority of browsers will be moving away from supporting third-party cookies, marketers will no longer be able to access data on their audience to inform their marketing strategies, like what websites their audience visited in the past and purchase history.

This, in conjunction with Apple's iOS 15 update, which grants users increased privacy protection, means marketers are going to have to get more creative when it comes to gathering key information on their target audience.

Gathering first-party data via landing pages, website forms, or by polling and surveying your email subscribers is a great way to gather intel. Plus, you can include an opt-in check box on your website forms to increase your email list, nailing two birds with one stone.

Related: Now Is the Time to Get a Grip Around New Data-Privacy Realities

5. Focusing on social media

More and more people are turning to social media to get to know brands more. Instead of looking up websites, people will search for brands on social media to see what they're posting about, which products they're pushing and to learn more about the brand overall.

If you're in ecommerce, make sure you are utilizing the latest social tools for selling products. Facebook and Instagram offer ecommerce stores the ability to sell their products directly from the site. And, with the Shopify-YouTube integration, products can be linked under videos and merchants can promote their Shopify storefronts on the YouTube platform.

Making your products available in as many channels as possible means you'll garner more exposure and, potentially, more purchases. Utilize social media to not only promote your brand but to push your products out to an engaged audience.

2023 doesn't come with promises. How you end the year will depend on what you do now to keep your small business thriving. Make sure you implement these five approaches and your business will definitely reap the benefits.