Predict future trends in your market

Low effort

High impact

Market disruptors, new technology and cultural shifts can all have an impact on business development, but business leaders need to focus on predicting future trends, rather than just reacting to change. This starts with keeping yourself and your employees proactively engaged in change and encouraging a company culture that anticipates what’s ahead.

We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline

What's involved? Ways to use this action plan Measuring impact

Keep abreast of market developments by reading industry publications, following influencers on social media and attending relevant events

Impact: low

Why will this help?

A general awareness of new developments and emerging trends gives you a solid foundation of knowledge to build upon.

Allocate a budget for research and development time

Impact: high

Why will this help?

Giving staff a certain amount of time each month to research and develop new ideas leads to a more innovative workplace and encourages a company culture that can anticipate change.

Survey your customers to understand their challenges and identify potential gaps in the market

Impact: medium

Why will this help?

Speaking to customers about the challenges they’re facing can help you anticipate future trends and start planning solutions.

Creating a customer feedback survey

Use this customer feedback survey to gauge how customers feel about your product or service and find ways to improve.

Connect with peers, both from inside and outside your industry, to pool ideas and predictions about future changes

Impact: medium

Why will this help?

Casting the net wider and staying up to date with what’s happening in other sectors gives you better visibility of trends that could impact your sector.

Use the ideas collected from staff, customers, publications and peers to predict future trends in your market

Impact: high

Why will this help?

Drawing ideas from a wide scope of research will give you a more comprehensive overview of potential trends.

What can I do with this Action Plan?

Start this Action Plan

Add some extra information to this plan and we’ll help you get it done.

We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline

Download and print

Get a printable template for this Action Plan, fill it in with some target dates, and share it with your team. Pin it on the wall where everyone can see it.

Get the printable Action Plan

Learning Groups

We also run Learning Groups on these topics where you can join other leaders tackling the same challenges.

Find a Learning Group

How will I know if my action plan is working?

Time spent on research and development (R&D)

The amount of time your team invests in research and development during a certain period

Why this metric?

Committing time to researching and understanding your market will help you predict future trends.

How do I start tracking?

If you use timesheets, make sure there’s a code for R&D. Otherwise, the business leader and key team members can book time in their diaries and keep a record of progress.