I know, it’s a new year and a new decade, but I’m not big on resolutions. I’m more of a reflective type of gal and my follow through on personal resolutions is, I am afraid, lame. Instead, let’s look at what’s new, what you see on the horizon, and how to grow your business.

When I did a little research, I was dismayed, because I am so not a 2020 kind of gal. Are you, and more importantly, is your business? These are the new trends I found:

• Digital health technology
• Digital currencies
• Increasing realization that most people want to speak to a human
• Boutique stores
• Continued warnings about a recession
• Data assisted travel. Travel app usage has grown 90% since 2015
• Use of nostalgia to drive sales
• Continued online sales. 50% of UK and US drivers are excited about the idea of using in-car technology to buy products ahead of time.
• Gaming, still

These trends are about what forecasters see on the cusp of the horizon, and while they may not apply to you or your business directly, they still serve as important signposts. Use these 2020 trends to update your business practices or the ways you service others. Remember that trends reflect the new, but some things never change.

 Do you know what is always in? Personalized care and attention. Your business needs to find ways, amid all of society’s love affair with technology, to touch individual lives. Relationships still matter. Stories still matter.

Sources say it takes seven touches to make sale, create a new client or customer. If those seven touches are selling touches, your business will suffer. Instead, create relationships. Tell stories. Let the last touch be one of selling, and you won’t be selling at all. Your customer will be ready to buy. Think about the ways you touch the lives of your typical client or customer…now add two more ways to create a connection. That’s the way to grow your business.

As we look at a new year, let’s look backward at the triedand true. Let’s use what we know and tweak it to make it relevant to this boldnew decade before us. Most of all, let’s be personal.