Sometimes we can make hay with an emerging trend—as long as it’s relevant. At minimum we can use the information to stock up on finishes and material; or bone up on a surfacing technique that may soon be in demand. Ignore a significant trend and it can upend a business or even an industry. Remember Kodak? We have to pay attention and read meaningful trends to inform our process and perhaps avoid calamity. Ask; is this opportunity, an early warning, or just nonsense?
There’re plenty of watchdogs that track, report and assert opinions on the subject of trends. You just have to pick one, sniff it out, and move on to the next. Case in point: I decode one such report titled Residential Furniture Trends, a very brief, recurring study of sorts, produced by Becker Acroma. Here, I offer my two cents on that paper then wrap with 6 questions you should be asking yourselves of any trend that smells of change for your finishing business or the coatings industry.
“Residential Furniture Trends”
Consumer trends are like the wind: they come and go. But their inevitable swings leave us clues to what could be emerging from markets we’re responsible to. In the case of Becker Acroma’s report, it means new colors to match. New finish challenges to understand like “Cracks and Bubbles.” New materials to embrace like patchwork veneers. New vocabulary to accept like “Tangerine Tango,” the color of the year (according to global color authority Pantone); or “Rustic Refined” as in, “we want to use this reclaimed wood … its LEEDS certified … got a stain for it?”
Watchdogs like Becker Acroma’s team help us to understand bits of data they collect with trend-speak (my word). They neatly group and categorize data into profiles called “Personas,” a term for a type of research study-analysis that merges demographic and psychographic profiles. Personas help us to understand customers by their personality and lifestyle choices which, ultimately, results in decisions that trigger trends. Catchy names like “Urban Organic,” “Livable Luxe” and the aforementioned “Rustic Refined” (all of them, Google searchable) help us to identify segments. Note the personality and attitude that emerges from the report’s description of an Urban Organic: “eclectic combinations of furniture and finishes [that] celebrate the revival of urban living.” “Finishes [that] are grounded, comfortable and fresh.”
Conversation starters for the next visit from your local ACCESSA Coatings Solutions representative, don’t you think?
6 Questions you must ask
Thinking about trends of any sort is a big picture exercise. The trick is to determine if there’s any meaning or relevance to you or your business. The way to find out is to ask, how could this apply to us? Here are 6 ways to shine it:
- Could this trend shape—in either a positive or a negative way—the path our business is now following?
- Does this trend mirror what we’ve been doing already? Can we leverage it to assist our sales or marketing effort?
- Given this trend, can we create new products or services that are similar or different to current offerings we now have?
- Can we leverage this trend to identify a whole new customer or market?
- Can we couple proprietary knowledge with this trend to consider an entirely new or separate business venture? And last,
- Can understanding this trend help us improve dialogue with our current customers?
INSIGHT:
Watching trends is like reading code. But asking good questions understands them. As Trendwatching.com affirms, “they aren’t like the seasons: they don’t play out neatly across calendar years. They emerge via the cross-pollination, re-combination, meeting-and-matching of existing and new consumer behaviors and innovations, and once they’ve emerged they constantly evolve.”
I welcome your comments, questions or more discussion.