Image by Vinzenz Lorenz M from Pixabay
(Photo : Vinzenz Lorenz M from Pixabay)

A new business always starts with an idea. But more often than not, it's the business trends of the time that define what that idea will look like right now in 2022.

For this reason, it's critical to look past that Big Idea to the greater business environment where that idea will attempt to leave the runway. Just because a certain kind of business was able to start in 2019, doesn't mean that same business idea would be able to launch today.

Existing businesses looking to expand and entrepreneurs in the startup phase alike are evaluating trends like these and considering how and where they need to follow the trend.

With that in mind, John Savignano, CEO of Savignano accountants & advisors, discusses how to identify the business trends that will define businesses in 2022.

1. Looking at the 2021 Trends Shaping 2022

One of the first places businesses can look to understand current trends is at what was trending last year. In the case of 2021, three trends overwhelmingly defined the business environment.

Employee Expectations Changing

During the pandemic, 50% of employers offered flexible scheduling, including, in many cases, remote work out of necessity to survive. This led to a 2022 where employees expect flexible scheduling. Employers who must attract and retain top talent-or any talent-are in a position to need to find ways to offer this greater flexibility.

Flexible scheduling benefits businesses as it increases agility within an organization and creates a more trusting, mutually beneficial employer-employee relationship.

Customer Expectations Changing

At the same time, customers demanded more personalized and seamless online buying experiences. For businesses previously not interacting (or interacting well) with customers online, customers increasingly demanded that companies offer an improved online experience to retain their business.

As a result, 72percent of businesses increased their online presence in 2021.

Small-Mid Business Access to Personalization Tech

2021 represented a customer relationship management (CRM) and automation explosion as many of these tools entered the reach (financially) of small to medium businesses (SMB).

This greater access to CRM and automation has further reinforced the customer expectations for more personalized and seamless online experiences from ALL businesses.

According to Salesforce Business Trends Report, 71percent SMBs say they would not have survived if not for this technology investment.

John Savignano, said of the trend toward more technology-driven customer experiences, "I like the technology because it frees me up to spend more time with clients. And I encourage my staff to use the technology as much as possible and return phone calls, return emails, build that relationship and have that human interaction."

John Savignano has seen this trend firsthand. In 2021, he helped clients evaluate this trend within their own companies, analyze the costs and risks, and decide how to succeed through additional technology investments. "With your client, you got to be in your client's shoes in terms of what they're faced with. And they may not even know the problems, but if you could help them foresee some of the issues or the trends, that's what my focus is."

That leads to identifying current trends.

2. Market and Financial Research

Businesses that decided to invest in greater digital experience in 2021, did so because they performed market research. They gathered and analyzed customer, market, and financial data to understand how the trend was impacting them, and by doing so, they decided that certain investments were critical for their business survival.

3. Making Sure a Trend Aligns with Business Core

Businesses looking at trends and how to respond to them should be careful not to sacrifice who they are or what they do best. For example, as John Savignano points out, "If you're able to bring that human element into it, it'll distinguish you from the rest."

Businesses should consider how following that trend aligns with their core business and helps them meet business goals. Over-diversification can be bad if they venture into murky waters in which they have no experience.

4. Employing Analytics to Evaluate Trend Trajectory

Businesses need to continue to collect and analyze this data. They need to keep their financial documents up-to-date and accurate to see in real-time how market trends are impacting them. This will help businesses invest smartly in trends when it makes sense, minimizing costs and maximizing ROI.

Business leaders should know they won't always get it right. But they're certainly more likely to do so when they can make a solid data-driven decision.

5. Understanding that Trends May Pass

When weighing whether or not to invest in a trend, it's always important to consider the fact that some trends are just passing fads in disguise. It's not always easy to tell the difference. Some people thought the Internet was a fad in the 1980s, and now those same people wouldn't want to go a day without their smartphones.

When an entrepreneur evaluates a trend and decides it's worthwhile to invest in that trend, generally, it's a good idea to go all in and get everything they can out of that trend, knowing that it will probably come to an end. Then, if a movement does become a more permanent fixture in everyday life (e.g., the Internet), they're simply in a position to continue to leverage that trend to grow their business.

6. Networking with Trusted Experts

No one person can know it all. Every great leader may struggle to see the whole picture or keep track of all the moving pieces while trying to run their business.

For this reason, entrepreneurs must build a network of trusted people around them who can spot trends and understand what they mean for that person's business. In many cases, an entrepreneur may think they have the best idea in the world, but they should be open to listening to others who know more about various trends.

It's important to realize that business trends come and go. If a leader misses this one, there will be another. It never hurts to evaluate the data and consider whether that trend is the right one or the right time to make the wisest business decision.