Growth Strategies: Identifying Opportunities in Market Trends

Associated Schools

Harvard Division of Continuing Education

Learn how to detect new megatrends—and understand how they affect the business landscape
Develop a growth strategy by finding new opportunities often overlooked in local markets and exploring those fast-expanding markets
Use frameworks to organize resources and research around new market factors for business growth
Develop a new lens to see emerging market growth opportunities and economies of scale and scope
Track and evaluate the performance of competitors on a regular basis
Explore the relationship between drivers of growth and potential business opportunities
Detecting new growth opportunities as they emerge is the key to securing a competitive edge in fast-expanding markets. But how do you forecast where the next wave of growth will occur?
Most marketing analysts rely on traditional macroeconomic data like population trends, urbanization ratios, and purchasing power. While this may be effective in slow-moving markets, new business opportunities are often localized and thus overlooked in competitive economies.
This program—integrating aspects of strategy, entrepreneurship, management, marketing, and technology—goes beyond benchmarking and performance reports to look at what spurs growth across a variety of industries, and how to spot it at the grassroots level. It’s designed to help participants develop a strategic, sustainable business growth strategy.
You will engage in simulations, detection exercises, and group work to explore the economic, social, and political megatrends that are reshaping industries and markets. Also, you’ll acquire the frameworks to identify and capture emerging opportunities for your business.