Customer

Market Research

 

Trend Watching vs.
Traditional Market Research

 

Customer Needs

Buyers

Innovation

 

 

New ideas, concepts and models are very difficult to measure. There is no frame of reference.

As product life-cycles are shortening at an immense rate, traditional market research – both quantitative and qualitative – can sometimes be more of a hindrance than a help. It is good at measuring the past and present.

 

 

 

Besides, traditional research has the drawback of relying on what consumers say, which is often different from what they actually think and do in real life. People don't know what they will do until they face an actionable decision.

"If I had asked the public what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse," said Henry Ford.

 

 

IDEO Tom Kelley creativity innovation quotes

Learn from noncompetitive industries. Knowing the start of the art or the soon-to-be state of the art in one industry can give you a jump in your chosen field.

Tom Kelley

IDEO

 

Akio Morita advice quotes Sony

Carefully watch how people live, get an intuitive sense as to what they might want and then go with it. Don’t do market research.

Akio Morita

 

 

While you cannot predict the future, you can get a handle on trends, which is a way to take advantage of change and convert risks into opportunities.

Entrepreneurial simulation games, such as InnoBall (Innovation Brainball) can help you both create new trends and benefits from new trends created by others. Innompic Games have emerged as a most powerful trend setter.

 

 

 

Spotting and tracking trends can also be a very useful tool in dealing with unpredictable future of today's rapidly changing marketplace.

See, for example, → Digital Marketing Trends

 

IDEO's Trend Spotting Tips

Packaging Design Trends

 

 

 

HIGHERsight  rapid learning course by VadiK trend watching  

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Insight focuses on here-and-now.
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