What's Next?

If your business has survived the recent economic bust you have excellent systems in place and the competitors that did not survive allow you to pursue a bigger piece of the pie. But with the almost total bust in housing starts that will not be enough – you must be in tune with the spirit of the times. Like fashion, interior finishes must respond to short-term trends while remaining attractive over the long term at the same time.

Despite the recent up tick in GDP, in the last year, everything has changed – especially how the consumer looks at the world. There is the obvious move towards value at every consumer level; caution will continue to prevail. In the past you could simply anchor your offerings with a top of the line item and people would comfortably drop down to what was still a luxury priced item. This marketing technique is no longer valid today.

Trend reports are snapshots that look at all aspects of the influences in order to give you the lay of the land that will influence purchases, there are no mysteries in these influences nor do I offer 10 magic trends or 4 esoteric concepts. When this economy does turn around, it will be gingerly with that cautious, maybe even a little scared customer that still continues to have needs and wants. Even designers are reporting that their clients are afraid to do anything other than to paint their walls “near white.” Resale value is foremost in the consumer’s mind at this time. But that begs the question: Must I do more than offer the basics to get through these economic times?

You must, simply because tomorrow’s customer comes to you with a new set of expectations and constraints. You must take a look into that unknown in order to thrive.

This report will look at what lies on the horizon – what will influence the end user of interior finishes. Three of the trends are simple common sense ideas – not new –but they are newly important moving forward, and will manifest just a little differently than they have in the past. The 4^th trend is the emphasis on geometry – the aesthetic perspective on technology. You may not have to focus on this in product offering, but it is a way to stay in tune with the designer market and is a trend that can be used in marketing across your entire customer base so that you present a fresh and on-trend look.

At Coverings in 2006, I discussed the proliferation of choices and the need for product editing - that is even truer today. The iPhone has 140,000 apps, but the average phone has installed only 5 and uses less than that. At what point do you trust the crowd-sourcing of your past sales and when do you move your product mix forward? The simple concepts presented in this report are universal, rather than specific and designed to help guide you in that quiet reflective moment when you ask yourself: “What’s next?”

The report is almost finished, so let me know if you wish to be on the distribution list.