One
great way to find market opportunities for your product or service is to
study social and business trends. New social trends transform how goods are
built and sold. Business opportunities grow out of the changes in the social
order.
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Back in the 1920s, who would have thought that bottled water will be big
business? With the growing consciousness for cleaner and healthier living,
smart marketers correctly predicted that people would want to drink bottled
water as against water straight from the tap. And who would have guessed
that the Internet would be a big thing that it is today, changing everything
that we know about doing business.
The challenge for you as a small business owner will be to see if you can
find business opportunities in any of these trends:
Retirement of
the Baby Boomers -- The
baby boomers, or those born between 1946 and 1964, are reaching the age of
retirement. Sociologists, economists and demographers all agree that this
demographic shift will significantly affect how we do business. As a large
cohort of baby boomers are entering their 50s, new opportunities in finance,
travel, housing, recreation, vocation and clothing will come about. For one,
they have greater disposable income relative to the past generations. As
such, they are driving growth in many areas, including services, general
retailing and recreation.
Increasing
Power of Women - a recent
Business Week article reported that women are beginning to close the pay
gap. In 1999, the weekly pay of American women with full-time job was 76.5
percent of the men's wages, an increase from only 61 percent in 1974. the
increased purchasing power of women is also evident on the Internet.
Changing Face
of the Population - The
influx of immigrants is slowly changing the face of America. According to
the Bureau of Census projections, Hispanics will make up nearly a quarter of
the population by 2050. Non-Hispanic whites will become a slim majority of
the US population, from 73.6 percent in 1995 to only 52.8 percent of the
population in 2050. Consider how your products will be marketed to reach the
burgeoning Latino market.
Increasing
globalization of business -
the companies that will excel in the 21st century will be the ones that
build down the global barriers. Spurred by the growing acceptance of the
internet, globalization is one of the biggest trends today and will continue
to accelerate in the coming years. Consider what that means for
opportunities in emerging world markets, particularly in China, the old
Soviet Union and Southeast Asia.
Mass
customization - Huge
conglomerates are beginning to offer products that could be customized by
potential buyers based on his or her preferences. Dell, for example, has
brought this concept to their interactive online systems that allow
customers to design a computer system. Customers can choose from a menu of
attributes, prices and delivery options. Hence, the customers get what they
want at prices acceptable to them. Consider what that means for
opportunities in businesses providing products or services individually
tailored to each customer.
Reinvention of
religion -- As people
continue to cast off traditional beliefs and services, others return to them
even more vigorously. Consider what that means for opportunities in books,
tapes and online services.
Yearning for
high-touch products and services -
This includes the nostalgia induced by high-tech solutions to everything.
Consider what that means for opportunities in antiques, older homes, home
delivery and pickup businesses, and any business owned by friendly
service-minded proprietors.
About the Author:
Isabel M. Isidro is the
Managing Editor of Power HomeBiz
Guides.
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