8 ways to stay on top of tools, technologies and market trends in 2017
- By Ryan Sri
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- 08 Sep, 2017
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Today, the only thing constant about technology is CHANGE.To stay on top of your game, you need to keep updating yourself with the trends your industry rolls out each day. As a startup, trying to fit in and make your own space in the market, it is extremely essential to gather as much knowledge as possible about the latest happenings in your domain of expertise. While keeping up with this fast pace of technology may be a little difficult, it is unavoidable. Having realised this fact, we have listed down a few ways that can help you in staying ahead of the others in the race and marching towards success.
There are various tools and technologies that are introduced in the market each day. While some may be really useful for your business, others may be irrelevant. However, you’ve got to have a fair idea of all the popular ones. Here are some ways you can keep yourself updated.
1. Print Media
Make sure you read important newspapers and relevant business magazines about who’s launched what and how does it impact your company. Do not just read about them, try and figure out how they can be incorporated in your business to better your performance. However, ensure that the version that you are reading is the latest one that’s released by the publication. It is a well-known fact that offline media are a little behind online with respect to real-time information on new releases etc. So while traveling, if you happen to pick up one of these magazines to read, just be sure of the date and relevance.
2. Certification Courses or Online Training:
Multiple institutions offer varied courses related to different industries. Ivy league colleges, international educational institutions, private organizations and renowned professors and thought leaders create their own structure of courses for their core subjects and provide certified training in the same. You may reside in Tokyo and still take a course from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Technology offers the best way for you to learn new things in your field and always stay updated. You may refer to sites like Coursera for intense and exhaustive modules. This way, you not just take the course and learn, but also connect with people from your domain and interact with them on an intellectual level. It’s really nice to share each other’s experiences and learn from a lot of allied sources.
3. Blog and news sites subscription:
This is one of the most effective ways to stay on top of emerging tools, technologies and latest market trends. All you have to do is follow certain influential people in your industry who write high-quality content and express their views on a new event that’s occurred. Don’t just read the articles, share your views on them through the Comments section and interact with other people who share common interests. You’re assured of absorbing the findings of your peers and applying them appropriately in your venture. Similarly, news sites also provide rich and relevant information that helps you keep up with the ever-growing technology.
4. Social Media:
Intently listen to what’s being mentioned on popular social media platforms. Follow trends and hashtags to figure out how your industry is shaping up each day. Pay attention to what influencers are saying on these platforms. LinkedIn is an extremely powerful platform to read and get to know all the latest buzz about your field. Join exciting groups and pages that talk about the services your company offers and participate in various forums. You’ll soon realize that your connections have increased and so has your knowledge about your domain.
5. Google Alerts
Google has provided a feature in Gmail that lets you constantly read about all the mentions on web about your desired domain. All you have to do is set up this feature on your Gmail account by specifying the keywords that you are interested in following. This action will throw all the results that Google indexes for that particular keyword in your inbox. So now, you’ll be spending a good amount of time checking your mails while your brain assimilates all the information it receives from around the world.
6. Follow your competitors:
Well, this is pretty self-explanatory. Your competitors may be spending a lot of time researching on what’s new and what’s not. Let them do the hard-work. You do some smart work and just read up what they’ve found out. This way, you save some time, gather some data and also spend some extra time trying to make good money out of your business.
7. Interact with customers:
It is very important for you to engage with your customers and talk to them regarding what they like about your product/service and what could be better. Ask them what works for them and what doesn’t and then analyse how things can be improved by browsing latest tools and technologies. Unless you have a problem in front of you, you’ll never look beyond your horizon to solve them. So look for glitches in the system and figure out means that can resolve them efficiently.
8. Attend conferences and network with industry giants:
It is imperative for you to attend meetings and conferences that are organized in your area of expertise. These places attract superheroes in your field with whom you can personally interact and make a mark on. From there on, you can take things forward and look for possible collaborations. etc. Webinars are also a good way to socialize and gather relevant information. Look for good ones and participate in most of them.
These were some of the effective ways to stay on top of the latest trends in the industry. They may seem really interesting while reading, but in reality, it may not always be possible to dedicate so much time on research. We realize this and extend a helping hand in this situation. Let us do the research for you and provide concise pointers that can save you a lot of time and efforts. Just get in touch with us here and we can take it forward from there. In case you have any further points to be added to the above article. Please feel free to mention them in the comments below or simply write to us at hello@growyourstartup.net
