What are the latest business English topics to focus on for 2020? This is a question that my business students ask all of the time. Below is a list of the topics in no particular order. Please schedule a call with me to cover one of the topics or you can create your own.

Company News

News about your company can be interesting to consumers, journalists, potential business partners, vendors, and others in your industry. There are many topics to cover and these change as new trends enter the market and old ones leave. Here are some of the current topics business people discuss:

1. Investor management
2. How to grow your business
3. Launching new products, companies or divisions both locally and globally
4. Entering new markets in your country or other parts of the world
5. How to gain and manage strategic partnerships
6. Setting company milestones and goals
7. Onboarding new employees, executives, and temporary staff
8. Publishing key company announcements and achievements

Company Marketing

Nothing beats having a great sales staff, or better yet, having a product that practically sells itself. However, to get to the customers you need to have a solid marketing strategy. Here are some top subjects in the areas of company and product marketing:

1. How to setup and grow referral programs
2. How to position free samples and trials
3. How to setup and run product demonstrations
4. Determining product sales and discounts
5. Running holiday promotions
6. Creating and updating tutorials for existing and potential customers
7. Rewards and loyalty programs
8. How to prepare for new product and service launches
9. Creating killer contests that bring in new customers at a high ROI
10. Getting celebrity endorsements
11. How to setup and maintain social media profiles
12. Why customer success stories are so important to your brand

The Age Of Social Causes

Social causes can make a huge impact on brand names and customer loyalty. It can be a negative or positive impact depending on your execution. You might also need to get into damage control mode if you start to suffer due to negative posts on social media. One of the buzzwords of the 2000s is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This needs to be a top priority for medium and large sized companies these days. Even companies just starting out need to be aware of this as well. Make sure that your customers know that your company invests in helping social, economic, and environmental causes of all kinds. The last thing you need is some lunatic social justice warrior taking on your company through Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Here are some CSR topics you need to be aware of:

1. Getting your employees involved with volunteer efforts
2. Starting and maintaining eco-friendly initiatives within your company
3. How to get involved with charities and the latest causes
4. Properly sponsoring charity events
5. Setting up charitable contributions
6. Free(pro bono) work for those in need
7. Creating and utilising stories surrounding your efforts

Trends And Value Added Research

Keeping up and staying in front of the latest trends is important in the age of information which can transform what used to take years into months or even weeks. Part of this also includes being a leader in research activities in your areas of specialties. Here are some things to consider:

1. The latest trends that affect your company and the bottom line
2. Predictions focused on your industry
3. How to effectively conduct market research
4. Keeping up with market research from your competitors
5. Where to find the latest market research regarding your business and industry
6. Cross market research from other industries that may have an impact on your business and customers

Being A Thought Leader

Customers buy when they trust a company. This trust is based on many factors with one of the main ones focused on delivering trustworthy, expert information about topics related to your industry. This is done through the publishing of informative posts that educate current and potential customers. These posts are on the company website, social media websites, traditional media sources and email lists. The articles need to be of high quality that shows leadership by being informative, authoritative and provoke thought in the readers. To meet this demand here are some topics on how to accomplish those tasks:

1. Developing posts containing lists of trending ideas and items
2. Creating how-to posts explaining how best uses of your products
3. Building helpful tips and tricks that help consumers make better use of your products and services
4. Best ways to respond to common customer questions
5. Delivering announcements about your events and latest content through ebooks, white papers, webinars, email lists, and other methods
6. Developing effective videos and how to distribute them
7. How to send out helpful warnings related to your business without worrying your customers or turning away new ones

Building Reputation and Maintenance

Reputation for businesses is no longer controlled through traditional media formats such as TV, radio, and newspapers. Social media and review sites such as Yelp are the gatekeepers of reputation management. Learning how to build and manage your company’s online reputation is an important role with larger companies having whole departments dedicated to this task. The main way to manage this is by listening to and tracking what the online community is saying about your company, brands, and products. Here are some topics regarding this important part of modern day business:

1. How to refute false claims in a timely and just manner
2. The best way to correct misinformation about your company’s products or services
3. How to best answer questions using accurate information that consumers can depend on
4. Controlling the narrative in your industry
5. Encouraging customers to add positive posts about your company to social media