To stay successful as a business owner, the right decisions need to be made at the right time. The success of your business depends on it. Knowing how to identify and leverage emerging trends can make all the difference in today’s competitive landscape.
Read up on the 7 strategies, Forbes Council Member and Business owner, Diana Rodriquez-Zaba uses to stay ahead of the competition and identify trends that impact her business.
Learn How to Look
Knowing how to look, and more importantly where to look is generally the first step to finding and acting on any trends that could impact your business.
Keep Your Network Strong
There's only so much you can research, read and prep for. Attend conferences, regularly keep in touch with your peers and get out and meet people at those networking events! You never know who is going to tip you off to the next big thing!
Read Industry Relevant News
Find the best blogs, publications, journals, etc., and keep up on them! You can likely follow most of them online, and it will be a huge help when trying to stay ahead of the curve in your industry.
Keep Your Channels Open
Utilize social media, chat bots, dashboards and other innovative ways to organize and consolidate the flow of information. There are hundreds of time-saving tools out there to help you follow the trends, make sure you use them!
Filter, and Drill Down
Don't get too hung up on one trend. Time is your most valuable commodity, so make sure your spending it on the trends that will make the biggest impact for your business.
Get Your Employees Involved
Two heads is better then one. And three is better then two; four better then three, and so-on-and-so-fourth. Get your employees involved so they can help you keep an eye out for the next game changer.
Listen to Your Customers
You should always be listening to what your customers have to say. The behavior of customers can have incredible impact on the trends affecting your industry. Make sure you listen to what they have to say in order to stay ahead of the trends.
To stay successful and competitive, make sure you keep on the lookout for the trends in your industry and leverage the right ones to make smart, informed decisions in your business.
Read the full article on Forbes.com!
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