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Due to global recession, it is important to spot and scan for consumer trends in order to maintain your business. Read more about these important tricks and tips on trend watching skills; from trend spotting to the resources needed and ways to apply these tricks effectively, as well as effective ways to apply these tricks.
First and foremost, you may ask what is trend. Trend refers to the unlocking of something new that includes consumer needs, desire, value and want. It is believed that consumers spending behaviour don’t change much.
Human needs can be defined by using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s hierarchy is an effective tool for marketers to evaluate consumers’ need and actions for their spending habit. In short, trend spotting here can be defined as unlocking the changes in societal norms and values to gain profits.
Tip 1: Understand the importance of tracking trends
Why is trend spotting important? Simply because trailing consumer trends lead to profitable innovations. It helps to gain inspiration by observing consumer closely. Consumers are the mainstream for your business to generate income. Thus, tracking their trends helps you to foresee the profitable new goods and services.
Trend spotting involves thousands of amateurs and professionals to observe, spot, scan, think and innovate in order to apply their findings and results to present it on the Internet which is then available for everyone to see.
Spotting consumers’ need brings new business ideas and eventually leads to innovation overload. With the invention and creation of more business ideas, it indicates that your company is healthy and competitive in the market.
However, bear in mind that your findings may differ from other trend spotters. The differences between your finding and others do not mean that you are absolutely wrong. Read on for these misconceptions and re-evaluate your findings.
Common misconceptions of trend watching
One of the most committed misconceptions is foreseeing next year’s hot colours. Bear in mind that trend spotting is more than just predicting the next hot colour, fabric or designer. You may predict next year’s colour and present your findings to the public. Yet, consumer arena is different from the industry. Consumers’ demand is complicated and thus, it is always difficult to define consumer trend by looking into the business models.
Besides that, predicting the future in the coming 15 to 20 years is not an effective method to generalize the population as a whole. Trend watching requires close observation and understanding on the happenings in the current business arena. Thus, jumping to an early conclusion is absolutely wrong in this case.
The biggest mistake one often apply in trend spotting is applying all trends to people from all walks of life. One often assumed that certain consumer trend represents the population. Once again, do not generalize the population as a whole! Remember this, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Hence, not everything refers to everyone and some may reject the trend.
Trend watching is simply observing the market. New trend in the market does not mean the old ones are out-dated. One effective way is to use the new ideas as well as keeping the latter.
And remember that anyone can spot and watch the trend. Some may rely and trust in professionals to watch and observe the trend. It is absolutely wrong to pass all the work to someone else. With an open mind, you may learn something new about the consumers unconsciously.
Tip 2: Know your own point-of-view and perspective
Next up, stand firm for the point of view that you have acquired. Refer to the previous tip, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Your outcome may differ from others. Do not fret about it.
Based on your observation, the more trends that you have tracked, it indicates that you are getting the required skill to perform as a professional trend spotter. It will guide you throughout your business to gain profits. As tiny as it might seem, these small observations are as important as the big ones.
Conclude the trend spotting observation by prioritizing the short-term future of consumerism. To succeed in this area, keep an open mind and be curious to your surroundings. It is crucially important not to be biased when setting your eyes on what is right and wrong. Observe the world around you and be alert on these occasions as you might discover something new.
As you noticed that some consumers may be excited about something, think why these small factors get the consumers excited. Then broaden your professional interest. Assume that you are an entrepreneurial journalist.
Tips to broaden your point-of-view
Observe the changes in other related industry. Watching and sticking to your own industry limits your inspiration. Every industry has own “innovation competence”. Utilize the changes from other industry to your own. What excites consumers from other industry is worth a try in your scope as well.
However, do not copy directly from your competitors. Instead, make changes to the already successful elements that excite the consumers. It is always important to become a trend setter instead of trend follower.
If you do not like the trend, then you are in for something bigger. You can consider yourself as a consumer besides acting as the professional trend watcher. Hence, if you do not like certain trend in the market, there is a possibility that there are consumers out there that feels the same like you. An effective way is to keep the trend and try to set for a new trend which is completely different from the rest in the market. You may dislike some innovations in the market; however, some may like it. The best way is to retain the current and introduce a new idea.
Never stop questioning the happenings and changes in the market. Read more and gain insights through latest magazine, blogs, and other useful resources for new ideas.
Lastly, the most important of all is to free your thoughts from biasness. This will block your creativity and causes you to lose innovative ideas.
Tip 3: Merge all the web resources
You can always get first-hand information from the Internet. The incredible wealth of trend resources may originate from websites, TV, radio, customers, clients, competitors, friends, colleagues, family, universities, shops, catalogues, leaflets and brochures. In fact, you may get information from any resources available. Utilize it smartly and weave all together to produce a new trend for the consumers.
As majority of population resort to Internet for practically every task, as a trend watcher, it is crucially important to familiarize yourself with the web. Check and surf blogs randomly to acquire consumers’ taste and needs. You may find thousands of trends-related databases from various websites online. Type in specific keywords such as consumer trends and compile the available information obtained.
Tip 4: Improve the collected trend framework
As you progressed from the previous tips mentioned above, you are jotting down more webs of resources. Next up, you need to sort out the long list of trends observed. Here are a few elements that you should consider when deciding the consumer trends; macro trends and also industry trends.
Merge and unite all these three elements; macro, consumer and industry trends to achieve the best outcome. An effective and workable method is to amend changes to the existing consumer trends, and add your own findings. Expand the framework using your own findings. This is a vital method to succeed in the industry.
You may come up with a new term for the trend as it helps to briefly describe the trend.
Importance of naming
Naming the new trend arouses curiosity among the consumers. Coming up with a new term to describe your trend generates interest among your potential consumers. Remember, strange names invoke interest. Thus, be creative when it comes to naming your new idea.
Also, create a new term that hasn’t been used by anyone else. Remember, you are acting as a trend setter. The key to become a successful trend setter is to possess something exclusive.
Trend names play an important role that is to tell the story of the idea. As you brainstorm for a new name, stick to this important tip; use common language.
Tip 5: Get to work!
Its time to apply the new ideas to the market. To begin with, create your own trend group. Every company should have a trend group. Discuss any issue and problems within the group. Come up with a possible solution. Having a trend group is always important as the group backs you up.
Trend group is an on-going activity. Thus, you need to set up weekly and monthly meetings as well as building trend framework with the members. Present your findings during the sessions and ask for their opinion.
This is finally the step to turn all the ideas into innovations and sell it in the market. Consider all these factors; shape your company’s vision, create a new business brand or concept, introduce new products and services, as well as market and advertise the new products through strategic marketing plan.
An interesting idea is the best word-of-mouth advertising scheme. It helps to generate the trend followers (consumers) to spread the goodness and advantage of your product or service. However, continue with scanning the trend for latest happenings and changes.
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