A postgraduate degree can help position your business for growth — here’s why

2021 has been a transitional year for many individuals and businesses. Vaccines have started to roll out, and businesses are creeping towards on-site operations. Changes in consumer behavior that influenced industry performance and business outlooks are steadying. Business leaders are continuing to pivot and innovate.

Remote work, quarantine, and social distancing measures have drastically changed consumer demands.  As people spend more time at home, their purchases have shifted to products and services like smarthome tech, home entertainment, and health and fitness technology. As a result, the e-commerce, fintech, and connectivity and telecommunications industries have ballooned. These trends are distinct in Southeast Asian countries, whose young economies are eager to adopt new technologies to solve complex business problems amid the pandemic.

Consumers have also become increasingly accessible. Rising connectivity allows consumers to be more vigilant about the brands they engage with. Raydiant’s State of Consumer Behavior 2021 report also shows dwindling brand loyalty, as access to more choices and information have made it easier for consumers to switch to different brands. This is an opportunity for newer and smaller ventures to compete in the market, and a challenge for bigger companies.

Shifts in consumer preferences have created new challenges—and opportunities—in the market. Many professionals and business owners are considering postgraduate studies to hone their business acumen to adapt to the changes. Bolstering skillsets and expanding industrial knowledge on aspects like operations scaling, managing human resources, and understanding market segments is necessary for businesses to thrive, especially in a changing economy. 

Roberto Ben M. Castro, Vice President for Marketing and Corporate Facilities at Eight Under Par, Inc., enrolled in the Asian Institute of Management’s (AIM) Master in Entrepreneurship (ME) program in 2019 to learn concepts he could apply to his work and family-run business. “My learnings…. helped me and our family identify areas where we can pivot our business, where we can allocate our resources, and which projects to prioritize.” Castro will be graduating from the program this year.

Meanwhile, Grace Locsin, co-founder and owner of FVA Business Consultancy, is part of the 2022 ME Program cohort. She learned how to optimize her resources while maximizing outputs. “Our revenues are healthier, and I am at peace knowing that finally our engines are becoming better in order to fly higher.” 

The ME program under AIM’s Aboitiz School of Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship is an 18-month part-time program designed to help entrepreneurs create a solid platform for long-term business growth using impactful organizational leadership and approaches to value creation. To know more, visit https://asite.aim.edu/ or send an inquiry to [email protected]. Application for the October 2021 intake is still ongoing.  

1Jared Silitonga, “5 Consumers Trends in 2021 To Define The Age of the Customer”, Digimind, February 16, 2021, https://blog.digimind.com/en/trends/5-consumer-trends-in-2021. 

2Karen Gilchrist, “Why now may be the ‘golden age’ for Southeast Asia start-ups and where the opportunities lie”, CNBC, June 21, 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/22/now-is-the-golden-age-for-southeast-asia-start-ups-says-goto-founder-.html

3Raydiant, “The State of Consumer Behavior 2021”, January 5, 2021, https://www.raydiant.com/blog/state-of-consumer-behavior-2021/.

4Michael Brenner, “5 Consumer Behavior Trends Marketers Are Watching in 2021”, Marketing Insider Group, July 26, 2021, https://marketinginsidergroup.com/content-marketing/5-consumer-behavior-trends-marketers-are-watching-in-2021/.

 5Graduate Management Admission Council, “The Global Demand for Graduate Management Education Application Trends Survey 2020”, November 10, 2020, https://www.gmac.com/-/media/files/gmac/research/admissions-and-application-trends/2020_app_trends_survey_report_final.pdf.

ADVT

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