Keeping up With Industry Trends Amidst Information Overload
In these times of information overload, it can be hard to know how to keep up with fast-moving industry trends. It can be even harder to know which ones to pay attention to and which to pass by. Here are a few ways we like to keep up with the latest innovations in the coaching industry and beyond.
Attend conferences, industry events and webinars
Taking your team along to industry events can be a great way to both learn more about what’s happening in your niche and to engage and motivate your team. Attending events – whether in person or virtually – puts you face-to-face with key industry influencers, creating networking opportunities and giving you the platform to ask questions you’ve always wanted to ask.
Now events are more accessible than ever with a variety of industry-specific webinars available too. This means that you can be a part of the discussion regardless of your location, ensuring you stay informed and connected. At EZRA, we eagerly participate in industry events, finding them invaluable for gaining industry insights, galvanizing our team and amplifying our digital coaching message to a broader audience.
Stay in touch with your target market
Engaging with customers and clients is vital for understanding their needs and gaining market intelligence. After all, it's the evolving demands of consumers that drive industry development forward. Having an online presence across multiple channels is important not only to stay relevant but also to keep your eye on your potential customer’s needs. You may identify patterns in customer feedback which can serve as early indicators for industry changes and a shift in consumer behaviour.
Engaging with customers also demonstrates your commitment to their satisfaction and creates trust and loyalty. This positive relationship can encourage customers to provide candid feedback and insights, improving your ability to stay informed about industry trends.
Get stuck into a podcast
Find a podcast that you can listen to regularly. This means you enjoy listening to the host, you don’t tune out and you can get to the end, even with ads! We recommend making notes throughout so you can go through them at the end and decide how you feel and how you should react to the changes in your industry.
The best thing about podcasts is that you can listen wherever you are, whether on the commute, cooking, exercising or perhaps as motivating background noise as you work. There are so many thought leaders out there speaking on a wide range of topics, that you’re sure to find a podcast that inspires you.
Check out our podcast, EZRA Asks, where each episode we invite a special guest and leading thinker to help us grapple with a question related to the world of work and professional development. Available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Open up a conversation
Once you’ve gathered some industry insights, it’s time to let your team and colleagues know. Sharing these updates and innovations is a great way to open up conversations to new opinions and perspectives. Occasionally though, excessive sharing of wordy articles or long-winded videos can be overwhelming. To alleviate this, try to include a short summary of what your colleagues are about to consume. This way everyone will know that the information is relevant to them and there should be no information overload.
Learn about other departments
Having an awareness and understanding of other departments in your organisation is key to effective communication, collaborative idea sharing and innovation. By staying informed about updates in other departments, you broaden your expertise and demonstrate your commitment to being an engaged leader.
Why not organise some regular training sessions where members of different departments can educate others about what they do, why it’s important and what’s going on in the industry. Encouraging awareness of the whole company in this way is great for increasing employee morale and productivity.
Can business coaching help you keep up with industry trends?
EZRA’s change and transformation coaching is designed to empower leaders to navigate change and seize opportunities in an ever-changing business landscape with confidence and expertise. Coaching enables you to hone key skills like research, analysis and communication and helps translate industry trends into strategy, equipping you to lead change proactively.