Treacherous Trends and Bracing Your Brand

Let’s face it. It’s a fast changing world out there today and no one can argue otherwise. To stay competitive you really need to be aware of how the market is changing and how to maintain your competitive advantage and unique selling point over the market. So let me ask you this. Do you know what’s coming for your business in a world where you could be sucking it up one minute but not the next? Well, if you ever take a look at most of the businesses which come and go, a common theme starts to develop – none of them planned for the unpredictability of their respective markets and the latest trends. Even worse, they may have entered a market without any knowledge of how things might end up. So what can you do in this unforgiving business environment?

1. Immerse yourself in a pool of Pop Culture.

Now, that doesn’t mean you can start singing Britney Spears aloud in the shower – One she’s not particularly cool anymore and two, she’s probably not going to have the kind of stuff you want to know about. What I’m talking about though, is people won’t buy your product or service if the market can’t find a way in which your product satiates their needs. I mean just put yourself in the shoes of a company producing wigs for everyday use. Sure the 80’s wigs are fashionable at a costume party – but old bald Joe doesn’t want to look totally fruity, when he goes for a major job interview. This industry is a perfect example of where you need to know what’s popular and what’s not. You have to highlight to your customers how your product is up to date and how it will make them look cool. Another fine example of this is Apple’s Ipod – They take it one step further and MAKE popular culture by putting the Ipod onto singers in filmclips. Although if that doesn’t suit, you can always tout news and interesting ideas to your prospects and customers like John Reese and his sporadic, yet newsworthy reports delivered to your inbox.

2. Keep up with the frontrunners of innovation and dodge the fads.

Don’t you hate it when the ‘cool’ new rapper chains you bought last week turned you into the laughing stock of the crowd? So does your business, when you launch yesterday’s fads. There are however, a couple of ways through which you can keep up with the frontrunners.

• Trendwatching – This site puts out a monthly report on current trends. They also offer a more advanced product for those of you wanting to look to the future.
• Google Zeitgeist – Google’s Zeitgeist is a great way to find out trends in what people are searching for. A lot of other websites offer similar functions, but I like this the best.
• Otherwise you can buy market research off a company with ‘cool hunters’. No matter which way you go, you are sure to find some spanking new ideas to keep your Small business’s image as fresh as it gets.

Keeping a fresh image can be absolutely imperative for small businesses and website owners – especially in fast-moving industries like fashion. Not only does a fresh image allow you to develop your products and services in a way which satisfies your customers more fully, but you can also produce further revisions to up sell your customers. Just take one look at the car industry to see this done professionally, they do a better job than anyone else. Most importantly though, people judge your business through their senses and, to a large degree, base their decisions on emotions. Therefore, if they perceive your brand to be up to date with current trends and issues, you have a clear shot at securing some very profitable customers – those that like to buy the latest and most fashionable things… all the time.

Well, I hope this gave you some interesting ideas for your small business(es). For now, I’m off to to do some trend watching…

Best of luck branding,
Robert Kingston.