Hi again,
Your sources of business knowledge could include:
Customer knowledge - you should know your customers' needs and what they think of you. You may be able to develop mutually beneficial knowledge sharing relationships with customers by talking to them about their future requirements, and discussing how you might be able to develop your own products or services to ensure that you meet their needs.
Employee and supplier relationships - seek the opinions of your employees and your suppliers - they'll have their own impressions of how you're performing. You can use formal surveys to gather this knowledge or ask for their views on a more informal basis.
Market knowledge - watch developments in your sector.
Knowledge of the business environment - your business can be affected by numerous outside factors. Developments in politics, the economy, technology, society and the environment could all affect your business' development, so you need to keep yourself informed. You could consider setting up a team of employees to monitor and report on changes in the business world.
Professional associations and trade bodies - their publications, academic publications, government publications, reports from research bodies, trade and technical magazines.
Trade exhibitions and conferences - these can provide an easy way of finding out what your competitors are doing and to see the latest innovations in your sector.
Product research and development - scientific and technical research and development can be a vital source of knowledge that can help you create innovative new products - retaining your competitive edge.
Organisational memory - be careful not to lose the skills or experience your business has built up. You need to find formal ways of sharing your employees' knowledge about the best ways of doing things. For example, you might create procedural guidance based on your employees' best practice. See the page in this guide: create a knowledge strategy for your business.
Non-executive directors - these can be a good way for you to bring on board specialised industry experience and benefit from ready-made contracts.
Hope this helps, let us know
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