Taylor: Know how trends will impact business

Posted: Sunday, April 14, 2002

Many entrepreneurs keep an eye on the bottom line and an ear tuned to their customers. They sniff out new opportunities and eventually taste success. Then, along comes a trend that ruins their business.

Failure to see a trend early in its formation can cause a business to decline or fail completely. However, recognizing the trend and understanding its potential impact can allow great opportunities for growth and profits. Understanding may be the most important factor.

Trends are often confused with fads. Trends are long-term shifts or movements in demographic or social conditions that are measurable over time. Trends may take years to develop and usually make meaningful changes in society. Fads, on the other hand, are short-lived and usually have no significant impact on our lives.

One of the biggest social trends of the 20th century is the number of women in the workforce. Nearly 80 percent of the women aged 35-44 work outside of the home. There are more working women today in every age group than in 1980.

If your business caters to, or depends on, female shoppers, you may wish to examine your methods of operation. If, for example, you are open from 9 to 5, you may need to change your business hours. Convenient hours is one of the factors necessary for consumers to develop regular buying habits.

Over the last 20 years, I have observed the gradual demise of hundreds of downtown business districts. I believe that the failure of many retail districts to adjust their hours for customer convenience has contributed to the decline.

Manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and service businesses also need to watch trends. For example, there are many current products and services that are directly attributable to the "working women" trend.

Microwave ovens, day care for children, telephone answering machines and maid services were once considered luxuries. Now, they have become necessities due to the homemaker's hectic schedule. Find a way to make the home front a little less frantic, and you have a business-building strategy.

Another trend is the aging of our nation. The segment of our population age 65 and older is growing more than twice as rapidly as the population as a whole. The number of people age 65-plus has increased by nearly 23 percent since 1980.

In the next few decades, the baby boom generation will push the senior citizen count even higher. Some experts predict that more than one-third of the population will be over age 65 by the year 2020. I will be ... how about you?

As a natural part of the aging process, the eyesight dims, joints stiffen and reactions slow. Yet, today, seniors are more active than ever. They have time and money to spend.

Can you take advantage of these opportunities? Some businesses, because of ignorance or apathy, are actually making senior citizens' lives more difficult. Let me share an example.

A few weeks ago, I visited a small town in the Texas Panhandle. As I waited for my meeting, I watched the following scene unfold. An elderly shopper struggled up several steep steps without the aid of a handrail and proceeded to pick her way carefully down the buckled and deteriorating sidewalk.

The steep steps and uneven sidewalk posed quite a challenge for the failing eyes and frail body.

My immediate concern was the potential for injury and possible medical and legal expenses. Later, I realized that the situation also represented one more reason to enjoy the convenience of the nearest chain store.

Every trend offers opportunities for profit or loss. Learn to spot trends early and grow your business.

You may write to Don Taylor in care of "Minding Your Own Business," PO Box 67, Amarillo, Texas 79105 or e-mail dtaylor@arn.net

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