By trendy I don’t mean über flamboyant, or even at the vanguard of cool. But every business worth its salt should have its finger on the pulse of customer behaviour, know what your customer habits and preferences are right now and have a sense of what the trends are for the future.

In a nutshell, developing products and services that meet customer needs, ahead of the competition is what competitive edge is all about. More to the point, today’s savvy customers are likely to respect you more if they think you’re looking ahead and anticipating their needs.

Spotting trends needn’t be an activity that requires time carving out specially - close listening to the customers you’ve already got, reading the signals of prospects you come into contact with, keeping an eye on your industry and trade press, listening to gossip about what other organisations are doing. . . all of this counts. Just so long as you build in the most important activity of all - head scratching - and a bit of time to figure out the ‘So What?’ (does this mean for me and my business).

For a great pdf download on the top 5 tips for getting trendy, try here.

competitive edge | customer habits | innovation | trends