As an entrepreneur, you know that when trends become visible to everyone, it’s usually late to take action about them. That’s why it’s important to keep up with specialists studies. Agile managers filter the best advice to find what works perfectly for their brands and clients.
In all time zones, we share the common ground: the challenge and opportunity of planning our business strategically for the next year each December, January, or as you please. If you are responsible for this moment, or have the chance to participate in it, remember to do some previous market trends research.
At least, reading about what’s about to happen and being valued in the global market can positively impact your decisions.
You can list trends you find most relevant with GitScrum Mind Mapping, and then later they will influence and generate your projects and tasks. Trends don’t have to be your goal, but they can help you reach goals and improve them.
Most niches and business trends are a consequence of human behaviour and consumer trends. Industries analyze the evolving lifestyle of customers, to create and improve strategies to sell more to them.
Even if you think of the sustainability concept, that means companies need to review politics to keep existing and selling for longer, rather than hurting the environment, “killing the market”. What matters, for now, is how to apply macro trends to make your business grow right, and GitScrum can help you with that.
ESG and Climate concern
Sustainability and climate are not really new concerns, but the way they start impacting the market is. Over the last few years, the need to create and implement Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) became more and more recognized among respectful enterprises, and the companies of all sizes that apply ESG principles tend to be more valued in the next years – even financially, seeing their stocks raise.
Many small businesses owners care about the environment, and lead some random initiatives like recycling, carbon control, or saving energy and water. They just don’t know yet how to implement and convey formal governance in their companies. Lean on GitScrum project management tool to plan, elaborate and consolidate your ESG. This will be important to be recognized by society and consumers.
Privacy, Cybersecurity Issues and Control
After so many scandals on databank leaks and polemics about privacy protection terms, users are feeling frightened. They are afraid to have their personal data taken, suffer smartphone invasion and use their charges.
There are even rumors they might be heard by their smartphones and speakers while they are “off” or on “stand by” mode. Couples are falling out over whereabouts given away by their smartwatches.
On the other hand, there are people who believe governments are using the pandemics to test and implement instruments to monitor and control the behavior of populations.
To sum up, there is a growing sentiment expressed by millions of people and consumers around the world: insecurity, or uncertainty. And, as long as there are many products and services that seem to increase this feeling, there must be others, in the opposite way.
Consumers are likely to be interested in protecting themselves from this wide variety of threats and attacks.
According to your business area, you must take it into consideration. Use GitScrum to plan a strategy and actions on how you will treat your end-users’ data, establish genuine methods to create mailing lists (never buy illegal company records), and keep your clients’ projects and files safe with GitScrum Documents.
Ability to Have Fun and Joy Everywhere
After 2+ years in the cloister, tribes are eager for many kinds of fun. We still don’t know for how long the pandemic will still prevent us from leading a 100% regular life. So far, people are learning new ways to find fun at home or wherever they can be in the moment. There is a boom of simple hobbies, using arts, music and games as relaxation to relieve the stress caused by the isolation and limited space.
Companies are not apart from that. Brand gamification is a growing trend worldwide, just following the boom of electronic games. This is how they bring fun to the work environment. It is awesome to engage teams and individuals towards goals, implement transparent, meritocratic work and provide fair rewards to the most dedicated workers and partners.
And, yes, besides using GitScrum Rock Star Team to create a gamification project for your team members, you can create one, dedicated to customers. Create challenges related with your brand (like social media actions), and reward the winner in the end with a free coupon or a gift.
Alternatives for Freedom of Expression
With many users claiming censorship and reprisals in certain social media platforms, we can expect them to seek alternatives and start migrating their content to new channels. In some countries, there is also political and state interference in social networks, threats of control and frequent arbitrary fines.
It’s not possible to determine the lifetime of each social media yet. Just like in an investment portfolio, the most reasonable position is to:
– be attentive about emerging platforms;
– avoid concentrating more than 50% of your strategy on a single channel;
– if you are now concentrated on a platform, plan to diversify gradually.
Flexibility
Work relations, markets and laws continue to evolve, and the remote work boom will go on. Remote work will not be an exclusive privilege of certain working areas anymore. It will be the main modality or a secondary modality for most businesses.
This process impacts the way how people plan, create and organize spaces locally and virtually. Homes and condos need to be more appropriate for work. Many people can do without cars. Local governments are investing in smart neighborhoods and coexistence among people.
In the remote work environment, companies can use GitScrum to create innovative workspaces, where team members will interact and collaborate together, to create solutions.
5G around the World
The 5G technology is expanding, and 2022 is promising for this technology in emerging countries. The more it happens, the better for all IT market, online services and ecommerce. Transactions and operations will be much faster, the navigation experience will be better, and they will be interested in new services.
The importance of project management will be even more evident, since more companies will need to migrate their routine to hybrid or remote work, and plan strategies to offer digital services.
Financial Education and Digital Coins
Some time ago, most people, especially in emerging countries, only knew about savings and fixed income. Before different economic scenarios, however, this is gradually changing. Each year, the number of individuals who are trained in finance issues grows exponentially. The same happens to starters in the stock market. Now, in the last few years, we are facing the boom of digital coins.
Your business area might be related to this, or not. The point is that this is a trend, and has an impact on consumption, and opportunities for new services. Depending on your working area, it’s probably time to start wondering when, in the near future, you will start to receive with digital coins or participate in a pilot project related with it.
Personalized / Humanized Marketing
This is not exactly a new trend, but it is about surpassing the way we did marketing before. It’s becoming more and more personalized and human each day. We started to receive emails with our names a long time ago. Now, what’s next? Pet shops will probably send them with the name of the customers’ pets, and how they prefer to be treated. Example:
“Dear Laura, we know you like to travel with your daughter Mel🐶. We would like to make sure you are both safe, so we recommend you apply for national pet care insurance.”
Even though data protection and privacy remains essential, you can use your project management tool – GitScrum – to plan amazing inbound marketing actions professionally. Explore possibilities to go beyond the basics, and reach the heart of your customers.