What are the most effective ways to identify emerging trends and disruptors in your industry?

Listening critically to your customers is crucial. You must hear what they are directly saying as well as read between the lines and think critically about whether there are unmet needs or opportunities across customers. For instance, if you are seeing a few customers use your product for a different use case than it was intended for, perhaps that highlights an opportunity for you to deepen your value in that use cases. Similarly, if you hear about a few customers considering using a different product for one part of their journey, it's worth exploring what value that product is delivering and whether that will impact your own product's value.

Listening to customer feedback is best done with specificity and scale. Or in other words, with stories and data. Stories: these are words that customers use - which you can too! - to describe the pain or promised land. Data: these are the systematic collection methods (like setting up a Gong tracker to fire every time your competitor is mentioned on a sales call) that let you identify not only the themes but also the frequency

To effectively monitor customer feedback in product marketing: 1. Source Diversity: Gather feedback through diverse channels like surveys, reviews, interviews, social media, forums, and analytics for a comprehensive view. 2. Identify Gaps: Analyze feedback to pinpoint gaps and challenges in current offerings. 3. Discover Opportunities: Use insights to uncover opportunities for improvement and innovation. 4. New Use Cases and Segments: Feedback can reveal unexpected use cases or new market segments. 5. Feature Expansion: Customer inputs can guide the development of new features or enhancements. By focusing on customer feedback, you can adapt and evolve your product to meet changing market needs and stay ahead of trends.

90% of the time we came up with a new feature for a product, it came from customer feedback. Also, make sure you analyze those deals you didn't win because they will be a blue print for what is not working with your product strategy (pricing, features, reliability, messaging, etc).

Staying ahead in today’s dynamic market means identifying emerging trends and disruptors early. Leverage industry reports, monitor social media, and engage in networking at industry events for insights. Don't underestimate the power of customer feedback and keep a close eye on competitors. Embrace tech advancements and use AI and data analytics for trend prediction. Remember, your team can be a great source of innovative ideas too. Always be learning, always be adapting.

I'd argue that it's fine to follow influencers in general but the most important segment are the thought leaders. These are folks that are already credible in the market but are also, by definition, thinking about the current state of the industry as well as the future. Other influences are more concerned about today, but it's the thought leaders that worry about the future.

Building and connecting with your core influencers in the industry is a great way to build trust and credibility. Make sure we add value first before we request for anything. Find the right balance and build the trusting relationship.

Stay up to date on thought leaders in your field through blogs, newsletters, conferences, and social media. Look for new concepts they are discussing as potential trends. Connect with them to learn what they see on the horizon.

Establishing and maintaining relationships with your main industry influencers is a terrific method to gain credibility and trust. Make sure that before we make any requests, we add value. Strike the correct balance and establish a connection based on trust.

A very interesting avenue, in addition to those shared by all the experts in this article, is to keep up to date with the research and studies of the various technological institutes. In each sector there are different certified entities that study the market and consumers and provide very interesting developments that can be the start of real innovations.

Beyond tracking internal metrics, staying competitive requires a vigilant eye on industry peers. Scrutinizing competitors unveils valuable insights into product positioning, strengths, and weaknesses. By conducting SWOT analyses and competitor assessments, businesses can identify emerging trends and disruptors. Understanding how competitors adapt to or challenge these trends provides a strategic advantage, guiding businesses in navigating market dynamics. Leveraging tools like market research and benchmarking, this continuous scanning ensures proactive responses to industry shifts, fostering resilience and innovation.

Consistency! 🗓️ Setting a regular schedule to review what competitors new features are, their latest announcements, their newest press releases of acquisitions or new hires, will inform us Product Marketers as to what the heck they're getting up to over there! Identify emerging trends and disruptors is easier done when there is a time booked in your calendar every month or quarter to do so - it then allows you to see the incremental steps taken by a competitor to get to a goal they want to hit. Sneaky, but it works!

In my experience subscribing to newsletters, digital magazines, reports etc. is one proactive approach to staying on the pulse of competitor activity. Setting up Google alerts is another proactive approach to monitor topics that are related to your business. Finally, making it a habit to review their website, product and feature releases, blogs etc, can you set you up for success.

I'd say that this is the most important piece, together with getting input from non-customers, to have a holistic view of the current state of the industry. You just have to remember that when you read something about what your competition is doing it could be too late because they are launching or it's an aspirational marketing device meant to elicit feedback.

Competitive landscape is evolving at a rapid pace. There is coopatition and sometimes they can be your competition very quickly. Knowing where we stack up in the market landscape is key to positioning ourselves in the right target.

In my experience, this is the single most important aspect of "predicting the future". Look at adjacent markets for new innovation, new entrants, new regulation. Then imagine the level of disruption that this new thing could have in your market, to you customers, to your competition, to your organization. Once you have this initial assessment, then it's worth doing "What if...?" workshops on the most impactful ones. In my experience, this has led to new ways of thinking, better risk assessments and, in many cases, a reevaluation of our strategy.

Cross industry or other adjacencies are a great way to see if there is momentum and a new trend emerging. Sometimes the best ideas and creative innovation comes from looking at the solution or the market problem at a different lens.

Look at trends and new developments in related industries or customer segments. These may spread to your core market. Attend events and trade shows beyond your normal scope.

Adjacencies or cross-industry comparisons are excellent ways to determine whether a new trend is gaining traction. Looking at the answer or the market problem via a different perspective might occasionally yield the most innovative and creative solutions.

While internal metrics are crucial, innovation often stems from adjacent markets that share similarities. Exploring these markets provides fresh ideas and solutions to enhance or differentiate products. This approach unveils new customer segments and behaviors, creating opportunities or challenges. Methods like market segmentation and cross-industry analysis facilitate this exploration. By embracing the diversity of adjacent markets, businesses not only stay ahead of trends but also foster a culture of continuous adaptation, ensuring their products remain dynamic and relevant in an ever-evolving landscape.

Try out novel technological innovations. Test and prototype cutting-edge technologies including IoT, AR/VR, and AI. Examine how these might eventually change your offerings in terms of goods, services, or business strategy. Begin with tiny, exploratory tasks.

Experiment with new technologies. Prototype and test emerging tech like AI, AR/VR, and IoT. See how these could transform your products, services, or business model down the road. Start small with pilot projects.

- 🔍 Data Analytics: Utilize tools to analyze market data for emerging patterns. - 📈 Social Media Monitoring: Track hashtags and trends on social platforms. - 🤖 AI Predictions: Employ AI algorithms to forecast future trends. - 🗣️ Customer Feedback Tools: Gather insights directly from customer interactions. - 🌐 Online Surveys and Polls: Conduct digital surveys to gauge consumer interests. - 📊 Competitor Analysis Software: Keep an eye on competitors' moves and responses.

¡Experimentar! No solo se trata de probar, sino de dedicarle el tiempo y conseguir sacarles provecho para que la imaginación busque nuevos casos de uso. Comparte tus experiencias, discute las nuevas posibilidades que se abren y fórmate tu propia opinión.

Adotar novas tecnologias em uma empresa requer uma abordagem estratégica e bem planejada. Inicialmente, é crucial identificar as tecnologias que melhor se alinham com os objetivos de negócio e as necessidades operacionais da empresa. A partir daí, realizar uma avaliação de custo-benefício e um estudo de viabilidade é essencial para garantir um investimento eficiente. Envolver as equipes desde o início, oferecendo treinamento e suporte adequados, facilita a transição e aumenta a aceitação. Além disso, é importante monitorar e avaliar continuamente o impacto da nova tecnologia nos processos de negócios, ajustando a estratégia conforme necessário para maximizar a eficácia e o retorno sobre o investimento.

Scenario planning and hackathons! Planning is useless without a vision. Rather than predicting a single future, develop multiple scenarios for how the industry could evolve and how it would fit within your vision. This helps to anticipate a wide range of potential disruptors and prepare for varying outcomes. And, run frequent hackathons and innovation challenges that will engage with the wider community. This can bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas that may not have been on your radar which can help you identify emerging trends and plan for them.

Staying attuned to emerging trends is important, however, an equally crucial aspect is a thorough understanding of local legal and regulatory compliance. Understanding the local legal system ensures that influencers remain on the right side of the law, particularly regarding disclosure rules and transparency in sponsored content. Adhering to these regulations not only safeguards the brand and influencers from potential legal consequences but also builds trust with their audience.

Here are some of the signals I typically watch for to stay ahead of emerging trends/disruptors: 1. Decline in product/feature adoption, underutilization, or engagement 2. Shifts in customer feedback, reviews, and support inquiries. 3. How net revenue retention and customer churn rates evolve. 4. Changes in customer preferences within your niche markets. 5. Slowdown in new customer acquisitions or revenue growth 6. Sudden moves of your competitors’ offerings, product launches, and market strategies. 7. Changes in your ability to obtain positive customer success stories or referrals 8. Trends from feedback from Sales on objections or concerns 9. Fluctuations in cash flow, profit margins, and operating expenses.

1) Be careful of short terms fads and don't construe them as long term trends. (*cough* NFTs) 2) Industry trends and competitor offerings are always lagging indicators. These are followed/implemented to bring parity and not to outshine. 3) Embrace innovation and experimentation. Only when you execute new ideas will you know what will be disruptive. 4) More than active customer feedback, one should analyse latent/passive customer behavior to assess trends.

Monitorar tendências de mercado é essencial para manter uma empresa competitiva e inovadora. Isso pode ser feito através da análise contínua de dados de mercado, como relatórios de pesquisa de indústria, publicações especializadas e dados de vendas. Utilizar ferramentas de inteligência de mercado e plataformas de análise de dados ajuda a identificar padrões emergentes e mudanças no comportamento do consumidor. Participar de feiras, conferências e eventos do setor também é crucial para se manter atualizado.