With your eyes fixated on running your business, keeping pace with emerging market trends is daunting.
Nonetheless, every business owner or manager must recognize their industry is dynamic. Crucially, to stay ahead of your competition, you must appreciate the changes in your industry and steer your business with the times, especially when it comes to long-term planning.
And while market analysis conjures images of a complicated endeavor, it doesn’t have to be. In simple terms, it involves comparing industry data over a particular period to unearth consistent trends in your industry. Crucially, you can use the resulting information to guide your business strategy development. In doing this, you align your future strategy with the overall direction of the industry.
Consumer habits and behaviors can influence market trends. Conducting the industry trend analysis listed below will help understand trends that might impact the performance of your business. In turn, the analysis will help you decide the direction to move your business.
Follow The Publications And Influencers In Your Business
Running your own business means you have little time to spare. You’ll rarely find the time and/or headspace to read a white paper or thought leadership article within your industry. So, how can you keep abreast with the latest news and trends in your industry? How can you keep track of the latest industry developments?
The answer is social media. It’s a powerful tool you can use to follow the influencers in your industry. Many influencers tend to share their thoughts on their social media platforms, making it easy for you to follow trends in your industry and be part of the conversation.
Read The Latest Industry Trend, And Research Reports Religiously
You can get an accurate picture of your industry’s current landscape and future trends by reading as many industry reports as you can. An excellent place to start is the Business & IP Centre of the British Library. It houses market reports from Euromonitor, Mintel, Frost & Sullivan, and many other firms. This library of reports with the up-to-date company and industry sector data collected from over 144 million companies based in the UK and across the globe is worth more than £5 million. Keeping abreast of technology market trends and analysis will help to keep you ahead in your business.
Entrepreneurs in London can use the British Library Reader Pass to access and take advantage of this impressive resource for free.
Use Digital Analytics And Tools To Assess Industry Behavior
If you are good with numbers, you can take market trend analysis a step further using the wide variety of analytical systems and tools widely available. These tools can help you attain an in-depth understanding of your market much easier and quicker.
For instance, you can use Google Trends to understand the topics of interest among consumers online. Google Trends will give you a long-term overview of your industry/niche.
On the other hand, Google AdWords’ Keyword Planner will help you understand the most searched keywords by your target demographic on Google. Keyword Planner will also help you estimate the number of times a keyword is used on Google. Finally, Keyword Planner will help you understand the bidding competition your keywords of interest receives.
What Are Your Customers Saying?
You should talk with your customers. Aside from supporting your business and keeping it alive, they also have insight on how best you can meet their expectations moving forward. With this in mind, take the initiative to talk to them and learn about their pressure points. A conversation with your customers will reveal how your company can help them even more.
As such, make regular quantitative surveys of your customers a part of your normal routine. For new start-ups, surveying your target market will give you insights into consumer needs and behavior changes. This will go a long way in helping you meet your customer needs moving forward.
Competitor observation
Generally speaking, the most successful companies are also the most innovative companies – they do not follow the crowd. Lead companies in any industry will break new grounds more often, which helps them stand out.
That said, observing your competitors will give you an idea of the market position of all your competitors. Additionally, such observations can help you unearth emerging trends. Crucially, you can analyze your competitors without spending an arm and leg.
It can be as simple as reviewing their website, reading their customer reviews, and analyzing the social media channels. As simple as these analyses are, they will reveal many important details about your competitors and your industry.