School of PE Blog

The ever-changing nature of business is a frustrating point for many people. Frequent fluctuations in trends are oftentimes a deterrent in finding a path to success. However, there is nothing more beneficial in business than your ability to adapt to that change and make those changing trends your friend.

In order to thrive in today’s market, it’s important to stay on top of trends within your industry, no matter the field. Many business leaders find the challenge of preparing their team to track and understand industry trends daunting, along with staying up to date with the most current trends in order to predict the future.

In order to prepare the team, it’s important to first understand what trends are, how to identify them, and how to know which trends to follow. In this post, we’ll discuss the types and offer tips on how to identify trends within your industry to help you better prepare your team for industry changes.

It’s important to understand the difference between a trend and a fad- something made popular by an influencing person or group. Fads rise quickly, gain popularity and momentum quickly, and then fall away just as fast. An example of a fad within social media is the Stanly cup, the water cup with a unique design that had every influencer racing to the website. The cup sold out repeatedly, with millions of mentions in social media and blogs, and- just as quickly- faded away. A year after the initial rise, there’s very little mention of the tumbler at all.

A trend is something that is more or less predictable, following a pattern that can be tracked and tested by research, analytics, surveys, and attention to detail, and has more staying power. There are trends in pricing, customer purchasing (which can be where social media influence comes heavily into play), a specific demand for a product (as with the Stanley Cup example), manufacturing practices, and more. There are different kinds of trends that have more to do with time and where you’ll find the actual trackable patterns.

Identifying trends within your industry is rather simple at the heart of it. It’s all about gathering information with your company in mind.

Perform research on your industry- This research will come in many forms, but a good starting point would be to find a trustworthy company, such as IBIS World, that performs global industry research into a variety of niches.

Keep in touch with customers- Find a great Customer Management System (CMS) that allows you to meet with customers and find intuitive pitching opportunities within the system.

Follow social media channels related to your niche and study them- Find companies that share customer demographics, product, etc. with your company. Paying attention to how they’re advertising and maintaining their customer base will give you valuable information into how the industry is moving.

Study your competitors- Your competitors will also be a valuable resource in understanding emerging or waning trends in your industry. By studying them, you’re also gaining information into how they’re running the company and give you a competitive edge in your niche.

Watch your own analytics- Pay attention to how your own company operates, find the patterns and trends within your own already gathered information, and develop a plan of action surrounding what you know is popular within your company.

Separate your customers by demographics and interests- This helps you test the viability of following one trend over another. By doing A/B testing on your own audience, you can also find out which groups are more accepting of a certain type of product, price range, advertising method, etc.

Analyze your customer’s buying behavior- Using your CMS, you can also analyze how your customers operate in terms of when they finally show interest in purchasing a service and how likely they are to repurchase a service based on previous experience.

Research foreign markets- Foreign markets will often mirror trends within your own country and give you valuable examples of what did or didn’t do well and how to proceed after the fact.

Even with the whole process laid out, it can sometimes be difficult to know which trends you should follow. One of the biggest reasons that people fail to make decisions or decide too late is because there are too many choices available. In order to eliminate the field of choices, here are a few steps to take that will help narrow it down to just one.

Interpret your gathered data and analyze it to see how it can help your business- For this step, it’s important to know your business goals as an organization and on a personal level. If a few choices fall out of that scope and will ultimately take away from the progress of the organization, those choices can easily be eliminated.

Double check your resources- Make sure that the sources you use are from industry experts within your field. This allows you to be confident that your pool is filled with viable trends.

Is the trend compatible with the practices and culture of your business- Similarly to your goals, make sure that the trend is in line with the everyday culture of your business. This will not only help you keep tabs on important trends but also make the job more fulfilling for those involved and lead to better job satisfaction.

Network with other enterprises within your field- Find others within your field whose opinions you value and whose business goals align with your own. Doing this will give you another set of eyes and ears to bounce ideas off of in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Determine if these trends will solve problems within your organization- This goes back to the ultimate goal of your organization. Be sure that the trends align with those goals and pay attention to the issues that have developed within the company's everyday dealings. If the trend you’re considering following doesn’t solve problems on some level, don’t consider it a viable option.

Offer ongoing training and support- In keeping your team continually up to date with certifications and other educational experiences, you can provide them with the knowledge and skills that enable them to complete trend assessments on an intuitive level before diving into complicated reports.

Embrace automation technology- Automation is one of the greatest tools we have at our disposal. Automation takes care of more than our everyday tasks and can instead provide you with valuable customer analytics that can keep you on top of your ever-changing trends.

Prioritize utilizing a diverse workforce- As a company, it’s important to provide a diverse pool of employees who can give a myriad of perspectives on one topic. But diversity can take you far beyond having a culturally rich environment. It can also help you obtain valuable insights into different groups within your customer base and help you make more accurate predictions. While technology is an excellent resource with powerful analytic capabilities, it doesn’t replace the intuitive and contextual understanding that individuals on your team bring to the table.

Stay up to date with industry trend researchers- Keeping track of all of the changes that come with evolving technologies and people is time-intensive and requires a lot of dedication. Taking advantage of trusted research services enables you to begin a preliminary-level research process with trend reports from all around the world and is especially helpful when branching into foreign markets.

Tracking trends within your industry doesn’t have to be difficult. By utilizing technology designed specifically to obtain and analyze information for you and following industry experts who gather information on a global level, you can maintain an upward momentum within your industry. Empowering your team to internalize information and make informed decisions is one of the most valuable ways to follow trends and transform the future of work.

Stay ahead of industry trends and empower your team for the future of work with School of PE's expert-led training and resources, designed to equip professionals with the skills needed to thrive in a dynamic market. Check out our courses today!