Who uses trends reports?

Within a corporation, trend reports are typically used by marketing strategy teams to determine which products should be developed next, or by retail teams to help define future customer experience. They can also help executives make strategic decisions regarding innovative strategies.

How to improve their impact:

Use charts to illustrate trends. For instance, if you found out that more than half of your buyers were using social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, then use those findings to create a chart showing the percentage of people who have access to these sites. If you discovered that most of your consumers prefer mobile devices over desktop computers when shopping online, then make sure to include this information by creating a pie chart illustrating the percentages of shoppers who shop from their smartphones versus tablets and laptops.

Present your trends in person. A trends report presentation should not only inform but also inspire action. Present it to senior management so that they understand what’s going on and where the business needs to go. You want them to see the value of investing time and resources into understanding current consumer behavior patterns.The best way to get buy-in from top executives is to present your findings as part of a broader strategic plan. In other words, show them how knowing about consumer preferences helps drive sales growth.

Trends research is one of the most creative and satisfying professional exercises. The impact of your work can reach across your organization. Make sure to clearly define the scope of the research. This will ensure that you don’t miss any important trends!

If you want to learn more about accelerating organizational intelligence with industry-leading trends reports, contact the PSFK research team.