We publish a free monthly Trend Briefing, which is sent to 160,000+ business professionals in more than 180 countries, as well as having an exclusive Premium Service. Our trend findings help marketers, CEOs, researchers, and anyone else interested in the future of business and consumerism, to dream up new goods, services and experiences for (or even better, with) their customers.

 

1. There are obviously a lot of consumer trend circling today, we see many reports, many top 10 trends lists etc. If you could only chose a few key trends that companies today must focus on, what would those be?

Consumer trends create opportunities for businesses, because understanding what consumers want, and how they behave, allows companies to innovate successfully. But different trends can lead to different levels of innovation, and no trend applies equally to all consumers (and therefore no trend applies to all businesses). So, it’s important for companies wanting to apply trends to think about how and what they want to communicate to consumers.

There are ‘big’ trends, such as the eco/sustainability trend, that can shape the whole vision of even the largest companies. A good example would be Proctor & Gamble’s placing of environmental and social responsibility at the heart of their long-term strategy, aiming for 100% renewable energy in production, 100% renewable or recycled materials for all products and packaging, and zero consumer and manufacturing waste going to landfills.

Then there are trends that can create whole new business concepts. Consumers’ increasing comfort, and even preference for going OWNER-LESS, creates opportunities: not just for entrepreneurs to launch new businesses (check out Zazcar in Brazil, or Cycle Chalao! in Mumbai), but also for existing brands to rethink how they serve consumer needs, as Daimler and Peugeot are both doing with their Car2Go and Mu services.

Trends can also inspire new products, such as our MADE FOR CHINA (IF NOT BRIC) trend, which looked at how 'Western' brands would launch new products or even new brands dedicated (and paying proper respect) to consumers in emerging markets. Examples of brands tapping into this trend include Levi's (with their dENIZEN Jeans brand), Dior (with their very expensive Shanghai Blue Phone, only available in Shanghai stores), and Hermès (their Chinese brand, Shang Xia, sells ready-to-wear and decorative arts inspired by Chinese culture).

Finally, there are trends that can influence how companies speak to consumers. Our Trend Briefing on MATURIALISM showed how companies should follow the zeitgeist and thus becoming a bit more daring. Check out Diesel India's in-store promotion in February 2011, headlined with the phrase 'Sex sells. Unfortunately we sell jeans' that offered spoof leatherette 'Knee J' knee pads to customers spending over 150 USD. This is a great example of how risqué campaigns resonate with their forward-thinking, more casual audiences.

In your opinion, what are the "strangest" consumer trends you have noticed today? Anything out of character?

If a consumer trend is truly ‘strange’, then it’s most likely to be a fad. Most consumer trends, as we see them, tap into some fairly fundamental part of human nature (such as the search for status, or the desire for excitement). Indeed, if you look at some products that could be considered ‘strange’ (Crocs, anyone?!), then you can still often find the underlying consumer trend, in this case the preference for comfort and convenience rather than style.

Consumer behavior changes very quickly today, it's almost hard to keep up. What would your advice be to a company with limited recourses that wants to keep up with the changes, but is struggling with time and technology?

Read trendwatching.com! ;-)

There is so much information out there, that as you say, the hard part is knowing where to start. For specifically trend sources, we’d recommend PFSK, Springwise New Business Ideas, CScout, Contagious, FutureLab, Influx Insights, Future Laboratory and JWT Intelligence. For more general thinking, start with people like Seth Godin, Umair Haque, Kevin Kelly, Jeff Jarvis and Chris Anderson. They've all been remarkably prescient at picking up on changes in society and business.

But for those who don’t want to read/ watch any more, we’d give two tips:

Ask yourself 'why' whenever you notice something new. Even if you may not be excited by whatever the ‘new big thing’ is, but others are. Ask yourself why they are excited and which existing need has apparently been unlocked.

Look cross-industry. Innovative, ground-breaking, bar-raising customer experiences may well be happening in industries other than your own. Sticking with your own industry will thus not only severely limit your sources of inspiration, but will also make you miss important changes in consumer expectations, which is what trends are all about.

You are our key note speaker at our full day conference Wednesday Live which is taking place in Stockholm September 7. Can you give us a sneak peak of what to expect?

The session will leave the audience knowing not only the key consumer trends and how they apply to the mobile sector, but also how to spot and apply trends in the future.

Indeed, as a trend watcher I might even say (with tongue firmly in cheek!):

“Tell someone a trend, and you’ll help them tomorrow; show someone how to watch trends, and you’ll help them forever!”