Social Trends: Create Market Opportunities in Business : PowerHomeBiz.com

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.





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

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.