I had the
pleasure of sitting on a panel at a recent trends conference thrown by the
wonderful and influential PSFK. This conference was much better than most (it was all about action). Most trends conferences consist of throngs of
marketers from all over the country descending on a hotel for 3 days. During which time, they listen to "experts" tell them what's happening in
the world and what they need to pay attention to. I recently heard a
"trend
spotter"
tell a room, "the big trend this year is all about color - and lots of
it!" Later, another admonished, "if you're not taking advantage of
web 2.0, you're missing the trend!"
Here's a trend - marketers seem to spend more time worrying what others believe
in and less time working towards what they believe in.
Unless you know Why your company does what it does, how can you judge what
trends are appropriate or not? And when I say "Why" I don't
mean to make money - that's a goal - I mean, what's your purpose, cause or
belief in the world? Literally - why do you do what you do? Unless you know
that, going to a trends conference is like going to the supermarket hungry - it
ALL looks good!
Would your shopping habits change if, before you went shopping, you had perfect
clarity of why you do what you do? What if you believed in looking
after your body? That would mean that everything you did would either help you
achieve your goal or at least not set you back.
Imagine if
the night before your trip to the supermarket, you were at a party where
all these people (some whom know a lot more about food than you) told you
about ALL the great things that EVERYONE was eating that you just
HAD to try. Things with butter. Rare cuts of steak. Hydroponic
celery. New triple stuff Oreos. Organic milk. Refried beans. I'm pretty
confident that, without much effort, you'd know exactly which ones to
listen to and which ones to filter out. More importantly - your shopping trip
will be easy despite all the advice.
Everyone
of your friends, even the strangers standing in line, would instantly be able
to recognize what you believed in just by seeing what you were buying.
"Look at that guy, he's so healthy." And better, they
might even say, "I
want to do what he does." But what would they think of you had
bought everything you were told to and then some? Not much, I suspect.
The same is true in marketing.
Know what
your company believes in first and the trends that matter to you will become
self-evident. Even better, your customers will know that you truly
believe in the things you say you believe in. So, be clear on why you do what
you do and you'll be perfectly positioned to capitalize on another trend:
authenticity.
Happy
shopping.
