Steve King, Partner at Emergent Research (http://www.emergentresearch.com), joins us for a look forward into 2011 at the trends you can use for competitive advantage... Read the Transcript

Steve King Partner Emergent Research http://SmallBizLabs.com

Steve is a Partner at Emergent Research.  Steve's current research and consulting is focused on economic decentralization, the growth of small business and the future of work and workplaces. Steve has served as vice president of Corporate Marketing for Macromedia, vice president and general manager of Asia Pacific for Lotus Development Corporation and vice president of marketing for Isys Corporation.   Steve is a senior fellow and board member at the Society For New Communications Research, a research affiliate at the Future of Work and an advisory board member at Pond Ventures.

As the world moves into 2011, now is the perfect time to look ahead to trends that will affect businesses.  In this article, we examine trends that are shaping the new marketplace as businesses decide how to operate more effectively in this evolving environment. It has always been said that companies should pay close attention to the customer, as one trend coming up is that your customer could also be your competitor. Imagine hiring a vendor who could you help you win the contract with the big client only to discover that the client beat you to it.  The modern customer also desires products that fit their needs perfectly. Technological advances created a world where product customization is a real possibility. Thus we will see a move where every sale is unique to the individual. One trend that businesses will more fully implement next year is using social media for competitive intelligence. Given that companies need to speak directly to customers, a lot of intelligence will float around the social media environment. One trend that is rapidly becoming mainstream is the creation of more general business plans. Flexibility is a key word as business needs to be agile. Another trend to pay close attention to is quasi-governmental and other private alliances.  Once more companies see advantages of partnerships further potential ideas will take root.  Companies may also want to join in with others  to form a formal alliance in their contractual dealings. 2011 will prove to be the year where businesses and customers alike will utilize more innovative thought to better understand their places in the business environment today. As Intuit noted in their 2020 report, the “balance of power is shifting from the business to the marketplace.” To turn these trends into a competitive advantage in 2011, consider the following. Know your real competition or become irrelevant overnight. Individualize your offerings for maximum customer engagement. Mine social media for competitive intelligence. Plan in less detail more often. Lastly, create virtual public-private alliances worldwide. Look out for these trends and more right here in 2011.