Check out the Trends that give Self-Made Entrepreneurs new Possibilities

If you want to stay ahead of your competitors, you must constantly search for innovations to grow your business even more. It’s always a good thing to start testing ideas. There’s just one problem: Many of these new technologies will flop, costing you time and money.

When something works, though, you’ll gain the unfair advantage of being the leader — the first — in your industry. What if you could skip through the noise, learn what’s working for companies in different industries, and implement those tactics in your business?

These five trends might not all work for you, but they’re definitely worth a look. They’re trending now, which means you should consider adding them to your toolkit before they become standard operating procedure and you’re the one left behind.

1. Facebook bots.

This is the hottest topic in the industry right now. Facebook bots are becoming more popular, especially now that we’ve entered the era of artificial intelligence. Many companies have incorporated some form of Facebook bots in their processes. Others focus the bots’ capabilities on their email lists, though I would question the wisdom of such a move in many cases.

DigitalMarketer CEO Ryan Deiss predicted Facebook bots will be the industry trend in 2017, ramping up to compete with email. The best part: It’s become easier for people to develop sophisticated bots without the need to code. ChatMatic, Chattypeople and ManyChat all are doing great work in this area, and I expect more competitors to enter the market in the near future.

2. Business texting.

Business texting made a big splash years ago, but it faded. New technologies have fueled its strong return. The average person carries his or her phone 90 percent of the time. And people respond more readily to texts than calls.

If you want to keep connected with customers and get higher response rates, consider making business texting part of your strategy — even if it’s a small portion to start. Text Request and other services make it easy to launch and test your messages.

3. Smart segmenting.

Your customers don’t want to receive the same message everyone else does. They want specific, highly tailored messages that speak to their experiences and needs. You need to build your business on that demand.

Quizzes and gamified info-gathering content will get you only so far. It’s what happens next that matters. Show your potential customers how you’re working to learn about them and their challenges. Segmenting involves a lot of moving parts, so it’s best to start learning now about this powerful technique.

One service provider is creating a program to help make it easier. So far, it’s available only by invitation.

4. Recurring revenue.

Netflix’s success has other leaders rethinking their approach. Instead of offering a product or service at a larger, one-time fee, many business owners are seeing the benefits of swtiching to a smaller, monthly fee. Recurring revenue is an asset that can drive your growth for years to come.