How to Spot Trends for Your Business

Posted by Sherrie Koretke on Aug 4, 2011 in Current Businesses | 22 comments

Finding your niche within your industry involves many personal factors but here’s one factor that is not about you but is just as important. Spotting trends. An example of a growing trend that caught people unaware is Netflix.

Recently Netflix announced they were increasing their prices for both DVD rentals and online streaming. The uproar was tremendous. I read all sorts of scathing remarks that Netflix’s price increase was unfair even bordering on unethical.

If they had been paid attention to the trends in the entertainment industry or the company itself these people may not have been so shocked. The DVD market is going the way of CDs and is slowly but surely dying. In our family we’ve grown so used to online streaming we prefer not to even bother going to the mailbox to get our DVDs.

But, a frequent criticism of Netflix is their streaming selection is limited and not very current. So where did people think Netflix was going to get the money to purchase more streaming rights? Of course they had to look to their customer base to fund growth.

If you pay attention to what is going on around you you’ll be able to spot trends like this one. In fact, when you start paying attention to trends you will begin to see opportunities for you and your business. Are you making it a practice to not only read and watch the news but spots trends that are occurring all around you?

Here’s a few ways to spot trends in your industry.

Read stories about changes affecting your industry.
Observe consumer behaviors.
Study social trends concerning your market.
Read comments on your blog or other blogs noting problems and concerns they have. Think about the implications to this person if the problem isn’t solved.
Use your intuitive sense to see where trends are going and how they can be solved.

To get you started I wrote a small report on upcoming trends I see happening in the United States. They may even be occurring elsewhere. It’s called “My Ten Trends to Watch“. You can download it for free if you go to my Facebook page, look for Files below my profile picture, click on it and find it amongst other available PDF’s.

Sherrie Koretke, The Niche Clarity Coach, Certified Professional Intuitive Coach. | Have you downloaded your free guide on “Five Ways to Leverage the Power of YOU in Your Business yet? If you’re curious to learn about unlocking the power within you to supercharge your business go ahead and do it now.