A market trend is anything that alters the market your company operates in. This could be something as far-reaching as artificial intelligence technology, as fickle as consumer preferences, or as industry-specific as new regulations. In fact, it’s almost certain there are multiple market trends affecting your business at the same time, right now.
Why is it important to keep up to date with industry trends and developments? Well, because that’s how you grow and stay ahead of your competition. As author and motivational speaker John Maxwell once said, “Change is inevitable, but growth is optional.” While you can’t stop the momentum of change like technology or regulations, you can take steps to grow in tandem with those changes.
This trend-tracking doesn’t have to add up to hours of research every week. By understanding the types of market trends, you can distinguish what makes sense for your business. This focused analysis helps you adapt and stay competitive in any rapidly changing business environment.
If you try a simple Google search for “market trends,” you’re likely to get a lot of information about stocks, financials, and investing. Today this term applies to many industries, but it does have its roots in finance. And though your industry of operation might be B2B services, retail, energy, technology, healthcare, or many other sectors of the economy, you can still learn from the three ways financial professionals think about a market trend.
Short-term trends occur over a few hours or days. In marketing or business positioning, this would include news and current events, social media trends, or sales events like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday. For example, if a news story breaks that is relevant to your business, you need to create content about that quickly to capture interest before it ebbs away.
Intermediate trends last anywhere from two to eight weeks. In finance, these are rallies and turnarounds that can mystify analysts. In business, causes of intermediate trends can be easier to pinpoint, but not always. Events like the holiday season, elections, tax time, or industry-specific compliance deadlines represent some factors that can drive intermediate market trends. Maybe your competitors do something every year to mark some of these occasions, or your customers are looking for unique products or services for a few months. Other times, social media influencers or emerging research drives these trends in interest.
Long-term trends last years and even decades. These are big societal changes that affect your business, like mobile devices and artificial intelligence, gaps or deficiencies in the talent pipeline, the COVID-19 pandemic, and culture shifts like the #metoo movement or demands for racial equity and justice . While you might need to adapt to the new environment as these long-term trends manifest, responses should be more thoughtful than reactionary. For instance, just because you know consumers want a mobile-friendly experience doesn’t mean you should implement one without strategy.
What Are Some Important Trends in Marketing?
Let’s explore two real-world recent trends in marketing with examples to further illustrate the point.
There are lots of trends that matter to different consumers at different times. But if your business tries to be everything to everyone, your message won’t speak to your ideal customer over all the others. Focusing on short-term market trends might be one way to make customers aware of you through social media or Google results, but it’s how you speak to long-term trends and show your value that will take them from casual reader to dedicated customer.
There are a few ways you can find out about the market trends affecting your business. As you explore these trends, it’s also important to be asking critical questions about how your values and service offerings align, fit in, or even run counter to the trends.
One way to hone in on market trends unique to your industry is to read the publications that are reporting on the current issues. For example, if you’re looking to stay up to date with recent trends in content marketing, you might follow Search Engine Journal or Search Engine Land. If possible, sign up for newsletters to receive articles and insights right to your inbox. If podcasts are more your thing, our own Page One or Bust talks SEO strategy with business leaders and SEO experts alike.
Digital analytics tools, like those we offer at DemandJump, for consumer behavior insights can help you get the bigger picture on your market, your audience, what they are searching for, and how it relates to the greater economy.
If all your competitors are doing something, does that mean you should do it? Maybe yes, or maybe no. But observing their marketing is a way to make more educated decisions.
But don’t forget, it’s not just about what your brand considers important. The whole reason for focusing on trends to begin with is to appeal better to your customers. Your trends analysis should also be paired with market research to inform your messaging strategy and content creation plan. With DemandJump, customers can dive into the exact keywords and phrases their competitors are ranking for—giving them the knowledge they need to take over the market share.
Following along with trends just because they exist is never a great idea. To make sure your choices will result in more business and more customer loyalty, you can’t skip market research. This process will help you understand the problems customers are facing, and refine the way you present your solutions.
There are three main types of market research:
These market research tactics will help you understand what customers are looking for and what elements motivate them toward a buying decision. How do their questions change along with their needs? What solutions are they seeking? With these answers, you will be able to put current market trends in the context of your business and your market.
There are several advantages of conducting market trend analysis, including establishing better relationships with customers and driving your business’s sales. Let’s dive into each of these as well as some of the other benefits.
We created DemandJump to help marketers get insights and drive outcomes faster and more efficiently. DemandJump doesn’t just track search trends and consumer behavior in real-time, but also draws in insights from competitors to help you see how they are reacting to trends.
With the insights provided by DemandJump, market trends will already be put in the context of your target customer’s experience, so you can skip many of these steps and get focused on the work of improving your business. Get started today!