Elie Ofek

Luc Wathieu

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 <h4 class="ideainbrief-title">The Idea in Brief</h4>
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 Trends, including those that seem peripheral, change consumers’ aspirations, attitudes, and behaviors in ways that may not be obvious. The digital revolution, for instance, has led people to value offerings that provide instant gratification and help them multitask. This is as important for a company that sells sports shoes as it is for one that sells video games.
 There are three strategies for addressing the impact of trends:
 Infuse aspects of the trend into the category to augment traditional offerings, as Coach did with its lower-priced, youthful Poppy handbags.
 Combine aspects of the trend with attributes of the category to produce radical offerings that transcend the category, as Nike did with its Nike+ sports kit and web service.
 Counteract negative effects of the trend by developing products and services that reaffirm the category’s values, as iToys did with its ME2 video game, which encourages children to be physically active.
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</article-ideainbrief>It’s hardly a revelation that digital products and services are playing an increasingly central role in consumers’ everyday lives, that the Great Recession has made people more cautious about spending money, and that growing public concern about global warming is influencing purchasing decisions. But are you paying enough attention to the deeper implications of those trends? Are you accounting for the fact that heavy users of digital products and services tend to focus more on short-term goals, demand immediate gratification, expect to multitask, and are open to exchanging ideas with people they’ve never met in person? Or that the prolonged recession has unleashed not a malaise but rather a desire to be uplifted and energized? Or that green consumers are skeptical of corporations that claim to share their concerns but don’t motivate them to act in environmentally friendly ways?

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Reprint: R1007M
Virtually all managers in consumer businesses recognize major social, economic, and technological trends. But many do not consider the profound ways in which trends&#8212;especially those that seem unrelated to their core markets&#8212;influence consumers&#8217; aspirations, attitudes, and behaviors. As a result, companies may be ceding to rivals an opportunity to transform the industry.
For instance, the impact of the digital revolution on consumers&#8217; daily lives is hardly a revelation. But it may be less obvious that heavy digital users tend to focus on short-term goals, demand immediate gratification, and expect to multitask. That insight, the authors argue, is as important for a company that sells lipstick as it is for one that sells smartphones.
The authors present a process for identifying the trends that could reshape a business and three strategies for leveraging trends to create new value propositions:
Infuse aspects of the trend into the product category to augment traditional offerings, as Coach did with its lower-priced Poppy handbags. 
Combine aspects of the trend with attributes of the category to produce offerings that transcend it, as Nike did with its Nike+ sports kit and web service. 
Or counteract negative effects of the trend with new products and services that reaffirm the category&#8217;s values, as iToys did with its ME2 video game, which encourages children to be physically active.

Are You Ignoring Trends That Could Shake Up Your Business?

Reprint: R1007M Virtually all managers in consumer businesses recognize major social, economic, and technological trends. But many do not consider the profound ways in which trends—especially those that seem unrelated to their core markets—influence consumers’ aspirations, attitudes, and behaviors. As a result, companies may be ceding to rivals an opportunity to transform the industry. For instance, the impact of the digital revolution on consumers’ daily lives is hardly a revelation. But it may be less obvious that heavy digital users tend to focus on short-term goals, demand immediate gratification, and expect to multitask. That insight, the authors argue, is as important for a company that sells lipstick as it is for one that sells smartphones. The authors present a process for identifying the trends that could reshape a business and three strategies for leveraging trends to create new value propositions: Infuse aspects of the trend into the product category to augment traditional offerings, as Coach did with its lower-priced Poppy handbags. Combine aspects of the trend with attributes of the category to produce offerings that transcend it, as Nike did with its Nike+ sports kit and web service. Or counteract negative effects of the trend with new products and services that reaffirm the category’s values, as iToys did with its ME2 video game, which encourages children to be physically active.

Are You Ignoring Trends That Could Shake Up Your Business?

Summary.

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