THE conversation jumped right into the subject of mentoring and innovation on the second day of the Cebu Business Month Entrepreneurship Summit 2023, which was held at the 38 Park Avenue Showroom in I.T. Park Cebu and entitled "The importance of purpose in achieving market allegiance, profitability, and growth in business with as well the help of innovation."
Cebu, a thriving and vibrant region in the center of the Philippines, has long served as a breeding ground for creativity, commercial savvy, and sustainable development. Its emergence as a booming economic center in recent years has drawn interest not only within its borders but also on the international scale.
The discussion on the key elements fueling Cebu's success story was set in motion during a symposium that brought together thought leaders and specialists from many sectors.
This intersection of thought and aspiration sheds light on how intent, innovation, and sustainability interact in the business sector, creating a compelling environment for healthy debate and connections.
Arcayan stressed the importance of a company's intent or purpose is in line with the requirements and values of its stakeholders and customers.
He also highlighted how companies that operate with a clear intention to serve and meet consumer needs have a tendency to develop trust and loyalty over time.
Customers are more likely to remain loyal to a brand when they believe that corporate intentions are sincere and customer-focused.
As an illustration, businesses like Apple have been effective in cultivating consumer loyalty by continually displaying their intention to offer cutting-edge and user-friendly products.
Romberg, a visionary in the world of tech startups, emphasized a key lesson that aspiring entrepreneurs often overlook: the importance of articulating the value of your innovation over simply describing the technology itself.
He challenged the conventional approach of slapping a premium brand on a product and expecting it to succeed.
According to Romberg, the real secret lies in understanding what your innovation means to your customer. In his speech, he stressed that it's not about what your product or technology is, but rather what it can do for the customer.
In Cebu's ever-changing landscape, this shift in perspective is poised to reshape the way local innovators approach their ventures, promising a future filled with ground-breaking solutions that truly matter to the people they serve.
Cybersecurity and cyber resilience are essential for organizations to protect their data and operations from cyberattacks.
Cybersecurity measures help to prevent cyberattacks from happening in the first place, while cyber resilience measures help organizations to recover quickly from a cyberattack.
Organizations can improve their cyber resilience by having strong passwords and security practices, keeping software up to date, using firewalls and antivirus software, implementing data encryption, conducting security awareness training for employees, having a backup plan for critical systems and data, having a disaster recovery plan, testing and rehearsing these plans regularly, and communicating with employees and customers about a cyberattack.
As Oamar Tabiliran, Business Head of PLDT Enterprise, said, "As businesses innovate and come up with new ideas, we should also be involved in making sure that our cyber security and business resilience are up to par."
Cyber attacks can happen to anyone at any time, so it's important for businesses to be prepared. By investing in cyber security and business resilience, businesses can protect themselves from the financial and reputational damage that a cyber attack can cause.
(Alexandra Cardoso, Honey Lynn Labra, and Thea Catherine Borgonia / USC Marketing Management Interns)