As we discussed in our previous learning labs, “Year-End Reflection: What to Review Now to Prepare for a Strong 2026” and Quick Wins for January: Small Business Reset Checklist, January is a great time to reset, reflect, and plan for the year ahead. By spending some time in early January identifying trends and metrics, you can better prepare to make informed, data-driven decisions.

In this Learning Lab, we will help you simplify this work by focusing on and understanding the local context and trends that really matter, so you can make practical decisions and enter the new year with confidence.

The Importance of Local Context and Trends

Understanding how to make strong business decisions starts with recognizing the difference between what’s happening inside your business and what’s happening around it.  Customer behavior, employee feedback, and data specific to your store are all considered internal insights. These insights paint a picture of what is happening in your business and how customers interact with it. Local and industry-wide trends and research are referred to as external analysis. The strongest business decisions happen when you bring these two perspectives together, using your internal insights to interpret external research to discover how trends may impact your business (Forbes).

For a small business, the intersection of internal and external trends leads to clearer insight and stronger decision-making across every part of the operation. Understanding where your company fits within broader trends helps you be proactive rather than reactive, enabling you to anticipate challenges and potential risks more effectively. Using local industry context helps business owners make informed decisions that are truly relevant to their customers and goals, limiting the day-to-day guesswork. By basing decisions on both internal and external context, your independent business is better equipped to make informed choices across marketing, inventory, staffing, and the overall customer experience (Business.com).

Identifying External Insights and Local Context

Identifying external insights and understanding local context helps business owners see beyond their own operations and make more informed decisions. Local business and industry-specific reports provide valuable insights into the market. With such a wide variety of data available, deciding which external insights to consult can be overwhelming. We recommend choosing data from a reliable, local source focused on either small-business metrics or industry-specific research. InUnison shares a yearly State of Local report that highlights data from independent businesses in the Richmond Region. Other Richmond-specific insights that provide context to the regional economy and business growth include the  City of Richmond Economic Indicators report and the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2025 Virginia Small Business Profile.

Practical Ways to Use Research, Trends, and Insights

So, how do you take national data and trends and create that intersection point with grounded local insights? We’ve got three tips.

1. Look for Patterns: Using trends to guide decision-making starts with understanding and analyzing your own data. Look for patterns or interesting metrics across your sales, customer feedback, marketing, and purchasing data.  These internal metrics will reveal areas of success, potential areas for improvement, and data points to compare with external insights.
2. Make Comparisons: Look for external insights that include data points similar to the internal metrics you reflected on. Start by identifying key data points, then find corresponding figures in local or industry reports. Compare the two sets looking for similarities, differences, and emerging patterns. By analyzing your business’s trends, feedback, and metrics alongside external data, you can identify patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. For example, if your staffing has a higher retention rate than the local average, or if your best-selling products align with regional demand trends, you may be able to leverage these findings in new ways that help your organization grow. External reports can also reveal broader industry-wide trends that may not be reflected in your business; these could be areas where your business is ahead of or behind the market.
3. Use Trends to Inform Decisions: Once you have identified key figures, trends, and points of interest, you can use these metrics to guide strategic choices. When faced with a business decision, like how much of a product to buy, how many people to hire, or even when to promote your business, turn to the data you uncovered. Use the reports as a guide and reference to show you what is working for other companies and what’s not. Compare your business’s metrics with external reports to determine whether your decision would help it match or surpass the trends and benchmarks. Using local context to guide decisions and uncover opportunities ensures that any choice you make is well-informed and strategic.

Wrapping Up

Using local context and trends to guide decisions doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By breaking down the information into easy-to-understand data points and focusing on trends that truly impact your business and customers, you make deliberate, fact-based choices that help your business succeed. Some key points to consider when using internal and external data to guide decisions include:

1. Identify Key Internal and External Metrics: Gather figures, trends, and points of interest from your company and from local and industry reports.
2. Analyze Trends and Patterns: Examine past performance, market shifts, and external factors to uncover meaningful trends. Identify how your business is performing based on local and industry insights.
3. Evaluate Your Findings: Compare the trends and findings you uncovered against your organizational goals. Focusing on trends that will most significantly impact your business. 
4. Make Informed Decisions: Use the analyzed data to guide strategic choices, ensuring actions are deliberate, timely, and aligned with long-term success.