We're always looking out for new upcoming trends. Magazines publish Top
Ten lists of trends of the past and upcoming year, the decade, the
millenium. I'd go so far as to say trendspotting is a trend -- take a
look at Forbes which has a whole section on Trendsurfing.
We love numbers too. They validate why we do things, why we should do things or which course of action to take. And so armed with numbers, Mark J. Penn's Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Today's Big Changes
identifies some pretty interesting and diverse "microtrends" -- groups
that are emerging in all areas of life. Heard of "Extreme Commuters"
(people clocking in more than 90 min. each way - even one who does
372-miles round-trip every day!!!), "New Luddites" (young,
urban & employed who refuse to use computers, cellphones, etc.),
"Neglected Dads", "Archery Moms" (rise in interest and participation in
niche sports and decline in the big sports: baseball, basketball,
hockey) and "Cougars" (older women dating/marrying men at least a
decade younger)?
A polling analyst and strategist for over 30 years, Penn's been consulting with politicians and corporations, specializing in discovering and targeting niche groups (think "Soccer Moms" during the Bill Clinton era). In MicroTrends, he identifies 75 groups who, although relatively small in number (say 1% of a population), will have a large impact on society as a whole (when you consider the US population to be 300 million, that 1% is pretty big). A common trait these groups share is that they are under the radar at the moment and are being under-served in terms of policies, services or products. And while they're mostly in the U.S., there are lots of microtrends emerging in other countries such as Vietnamese entrepreneurs, Chinese artists and the rise of Indian women in politics and business.
These microtrends are somewhat similar to Chris Anderson's The Long Tail, where there are all these niche market segments of people who have interests that may seem bizarre or so completely off the beaten track. We should all take note of these important untapped markets, especially entrepreneurs, corporate managers, and policy makers.
It's an interesting read - a neat insight into how things will change and kind of a "heads up" for those in the position to take the opportunity to serve these niche groups.
And as many people do at the beginning of the new year, they take stock of where they are in their career and gauge how far they've progressed towards their goals or whether they want to change their direction. By keeping an open mind to opportunities opened up by these microtrends, you could find yourself in a new and exciting position, company, or career that you hadn't planned on.
