This is a guest post from Julia Carol Esguerra, a Business Consultant from Bridge Southeast
Looking back, 2015 has been a fruitful year for all Filipino business owners and aspirants. Startups and freelancing opportunities have made doing business become the talk of town and it seems to continue for the next years to come as Filipinos began to see other possibilities outside the terms of employment and office desks.
As Filipino businesses anticipate and prepare for the arrival of 2016, experts and individuals were caught in that time of the year where multiple guesses were foretold in order to brace the country’s efforts toward further development.
With the successes brought by 2015, 2016 is likely to begin with a promising start as these business predictions flow within the country little by little:
1. Online and mobile marketing will still dominate
When Filipinos pursued the digital ways, businesses and brands were fast to catch the trend and went from the traditional ways of marketing to mobile and the internet, where most Filipinos spend most of their time. 2015 is the year where most Filipino businesses danced with digital marketing to further relate with their prospective audiences. Digital marketing services has also been a popular career path for most young professionals.
Remember the last time you watched a YouTube video and an ad suddenly popped up? With Google’s ownership of YouTube, video ads will continue the trend as more audiences decided to watch the ad instead of skipping it. Do you see various promotional ads when you’re scrolling through your feeds in Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? The Philippines has an array of social media enthusiasts and the best way to introduce your brand in the market is to peek in with these online communities.
Mobile is also observed to overlook desktop in terms of usability and website traffic. As Filipinos continue to adapt technology in their lives, the more the current generation has their hands full of mobile apps and content.
2. Freelancing will still be a major hit
Freelancing jobs and websites were a hit this year. Maybe it’s due to the fact that most Filipinos wanted to enhance their skills outside the corners of an office. Becoming a freelancer entails one to build their portfolio and network by working for various organizations and companies. By becoming a freelancer, you’re going to be your very own boss: you’ll manage your schedule and workflow as you see fit.
As more and more Filipinos become attracted to the freelancing business and the various opportunities that comes with it, it’s no wonder that the freelancing economy will continue to boom in the next 5 years or so. In fact, some companies have begun to hire freelancers for some tasks as their experience speak for their job, hence they offer wider alternatives more than what a job position requires.
3. Startups’ economic systems
Both local and international startups have taken the country by storm. Similar to freelancing, startups have made doing business a fair banter for Filipinos who’ve been aspiring to start and register their own companies. Unfortunately, despite the job advancements and economic development brought by startup individuals, there’s a lack of support for startups on the local government’s side as the startup industry is still fairly new in the Philippines.
However, the impact have made some politicians to produce bills catering to startups in the local industry. Bills that focuses on tax exemptions for startups and a balanced business deals among the private sectors. Considering the current and continuous demand of startups in the Philippines, it’s no secret that they are one of the leading economy drivers.
4. Millennials will steer the economy
Millennials (Generation Y) are now the main economy drivers of this era and are considered to be a main asset in every organization. Along with living and working a fast-paced digital life, the need of every millennial for immediate interactions has made mobile marketing a step forward in work efficiency.
Millennials are also known to have great influence among the other generations. With their expertise in technology and need for positive social justice, most have looked up to individuals as worthy role models whether in a corporate or in a personal setting.
This 2016, businesses should have a “millennial mindset”, a philosophy that focuses on shared values, commitment to social and global issues, and developing a humanistic touch in their brands and businesses.
Each New Year comes with a lot of changes for Filipino businesses. There will be changes in company cultures and evolving trends will be a definite win if businesses will be able to catch and execute it properly, making 2016 another year for Filipino businesses to achieve wins in the industry.