I’m often asked to speak at events around the world where my #1 requested speaking topic is trends, backed with lots of hard facts, ideas and insights. Yet here in Australia and New Zealand my most requested keynote topic is leadership, and frequently it is requested that it be delivered with a high percentage of entertainment rather than too many specifics or details. Why is this?
I’ve often wonder why other countries place so much legitimate importance on trend information at conferences while here in Australia it’s very low down the pecking order for the majority of corporations and associations. Maybe, I sense, it’s the historical perception of the tyranny of distance. There is a reluctance to lead first, when you can wait for the likes of the US or UK to often set new business precedents either in service or product industries. Yet Australia is superbly placed in a prime geographical location to take on the world and win in many business fields. Indeed, Australia is positioned in an optimum time zone to deal with Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the US, and pretty much the whole world, which can be accessed by phone or email at some point in our working day.
If this is the case shouldn’t trends figure really high on your agenda when putting your next conference or workshop event together?
Trend watching has emerged as crucial, both to big and small business. It’s not a discipline your current management or a newly implemented department can quickly take on if they have little or zero experience of trends. In fact, most people confuse futurists with trend watchers. A futurist predicts emerging patterns that are likely to effect us after say a decade, while trend watchers are much more on the cutting edge of what needs to be implemented over the coming two to five years to advance particular businesses, or in some cases just to survive in business. Most noteworthy, global trend watchers have years of experience observing, over time, changes within societies worldwide, the social patterns that are altering around the globe, and the impact this has on all areas of business. Timing trends and when to use them can make or break any business. I know in my own businesses that this timing has been significant in how, when and in which new directions we move forward. Sometimes we choose to be ahead of the pack with a concept and launch first, while other times I prefer the public to get their education on a product or service at someone else’s expense before we step in and deliver when it’s “customer friendly ready”.
I have used this same trend awareness and strategic tactics so many times when advising numerous global mass retailers and manufactures such as Wal*Mart, Tesco’s, Marks & Spencer’s, Mercedes, Wedgwood and Peugeot. It’s all about knowing when the best time is to enter the market and when the trend is reaching critical mass awareness so that if it chooses, a business can be seen to have set a trend, or it can elect to wait until the market is educated, which is less expensive.
There are many emerging consumer trends to watch during the coming year, but we all need to know which are going to be the most important. Here’s a quick list of five big trends that I believe need to be on your radar for the coming 12 months: status, consumer power and transparency, the online revolution, more adventurous consumption, and a shift from consumption to participation. These are all areas that affect pretty much any business, in any given area. So let me give you a bit more detail:
Status: Brands need to realise that the ‘old’, mass-era status symbols are no longer every consumers’ big dream. After all, as mature consumer societies are dominated by saturation in every way, status will now be sought from the individual experiences, participation, or side effects of your service or product, rather than the dated lifestyle which is centred on hoarding as many branded, luxury goods as possible. Green Power, the environmental trend, will now become part of status. Companies that struggle with green issues will experience the start of their decline.
Consumer Power and Transparency: Real time transparency through the internet means there is no place to hide if your goods or services aren’t up to scratch. When noted products or services start to clock up serious numbers of unhappy consumers, all voicing their opinion, a Google search on that product may stop you from buying: “The ants now have megaphones, leaving big and small companies with no place to hide”.
Online Revolution: Grab the online bull by the horns and educate yourself about as many ‘WEB N+1s’ as you can. If you feel the online world is evolving so fast that it’s hard to tell your web 0.2 from your web 2.0— tough luck, the rest of the world is leaving you behind! The avalanche will continue, and if you haven’t climbed the mountain you’re sure as hell going to be smothered out of existence by the fall out. The Youth Market – the Y generation, is a market force to be reckoned with and not something to be ignored or put on the long finger.
More Adventurous Consumption: Consumers everywhere are becoming more daring in how they consume. Whether it’s the obvious holiday experience to a far-flung part of the world with a lost tribe or ditching your traditional pension plans in favour of creating your own ‘pension’ property portfolio, consumers are so much more adventurous in just about every choice they make. Quality of life, wellness and health trends show no signs of slowing down and will increase even more when blended effectively with adventurous offerings in this area. Consumers are increasingly sceptical about tradition, governments and standard choices. Instead they are opting for unique choices and people power. Consumption to Participation: Consumers now get to try experiences before buying in every shape and form. It’s a smorgasbord out there of trying, tasting and having a go. We’ve all done it for years when test driving a new car or tasting something on offer in a supermarket. Now it’s arrived in almost every industry. Just two examples: real estate agents may need to consider trial sleepovers before a property is purchased. Insurance companies will need to offer incentives to entice potential customers to sign up. These incentives will need to be something other than insurance. This is not niche. This will be widespread. Be ready. It’s time to plan your next big thing!
Anne McKevitt talks on trends, tailored for your specific industry. To find out more about a keynote talk or trend workshop, contact ICMI on (03) 9529 3711.
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