A trend only matters if it changes how your customers find and choose you. Each trend below is backed by recent data or a clear shift in how people search, and comes with a practical next step.
Where we cite numbers, the source is linked. See our marketing statistics page for more.
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People increasingly ask AI tools for recommendations. The BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 found 45% of consumers use ChatGPT or other AI tools when looking for local businesses, up from 6% the year before.
What to do: keep your business details consistent everywhere, earn steady reviews, and answer common customer questions clearly on your website, since that is the information AI tools draw on.
Reading reviews is now near-universal, and how you reply is part of the decision. The same survey found 80% of consumers are likely to use a business that responds to all reviews, and half are put off by generic, templated replies.
What to do: reply to every review personally and promptly. Thank people specifically, and handle criticism calmly.
Google is still the most used platform, but Apple Maps use nearly doubled to 27% in the 2026 survey. Customers now find businesses across several maps and apps.
What to do: claim and complete Apple Business Connect and Bing Places, not just Google Business Profile, and keep hours and details identical.
Short, real videos of your work, team and customers continue to outperform polished ads on social platforms, and they cost little to make on a phone.
What to do: post short, genuine clips regularly, and coordinate them with your listings, email and offers so every channel tells the same story. That coordination is what C2OC’s AI marketing runs for members.
Customers increasingly check businesses across several sources before buying: reviews, AI summaries, maps, social profiles and websites. Inconsistent details or unanswered criticism stand out quickly.
What to do: keep details consistent everywhere, show real people and real work, publish clear prices or price ranges where you can, and be honest about what you offer.
Small businesses face rising costs and limited time, so efficiency matters more than ever. Automation now handles much of the routine marketing work that once needed staff or an agency.
What to do: automate repetitive tasks such as posting, reminders and review requests, and spend your own time on the work only you can do: serving customers and building relationships.
The rise of AI assistants as a way to find local businesses, which makes accurate listings, reviews and clear website answers more important.
Yes. AI tools draw on the same signals: accurate listings, reviews and clear, useful website content.
Yes, short and authentic. Phone-shot clips of real work and real people perform well and cost little.
C2OC membership keeps your marketing current and coordinated across twelve channels, powered by AI and backed by a network of 700+ chambers.
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