Do you want to be a trend forecaster?

If there was a Grammy Awards platform for the universe, earth would win that shiny gold statue for best drama, comedy, and heck, we may as well throw action and thriller into the mix - yup, we’d take it all!

So we know the world is changing, dramatically. It’s exciting if you can predict what’s coming and at the same time evoke an emotion of terror when you have no clue for what’s on the horizon.

Sussed people visit trends sites and look for what is going on in their industries to see what’s coming. This is definitely much better than waiting for the future train to run you over… but this is only one aspect of your business.

© Oliver Sved – 123RF.com

You still need to see what trends are affecting your consumers and employees; after all, they are the fundamental building blocks of your existence and could very well be more important than your industry’s trends.

But this post is about what actually creates trends rather than the trends themselves, and what creates trends are human needs – they are called “need states”. The need states differ depending on which market your consumers and employees live in and they are broken down as follows:

Mature awareness market needs (cities like San Francisco, Berlin, pockets of Cape Town) require:

·More personalisation

·More escapism or trust

·More simplexity or convenience

Emerging awareness market needs (cities like Beijing, Johannesburg, Dubai) require:

·More recognition

·More personalisation

·More escapism

Less affluent awareness market needs (townships in Mexico, South Africa, India) require:

·More value

·More simplexity

·More recognition

By understanding the needs of people living in these markets, both the consumer and employees, you understand what trends will be growing in these sectors and you eliminate the blow of the 120-ton locomotive.

Ready… Steady… Trend forecast!