How to Spot Consumer Trends Before They Actually H (go back »)

This eliminates the hit-and-miss gamble in your venture. Anyone can spot the changes in consumer preferences and be ahead of everyone else. You only need to look closer for the early signs of change. Here are some of the ways by which to recognize these changes based on the success of Sonicbids: Talk less, listen more. This was how Panos Panay made Sonicbids a gigantic social music marketing service that now connects bands with more than 95,000 gigs in 2011. Panay says he used to immerse himself in a topic by reading about it, spending on it an hour in the morning and another hour before going to sleep. Thus, the idea for Sonicbids came to him after reading Blur in 1999. This book talked a lot about how the Internet was about to change everything and Panay got the inspiration for Sonicbids. Panay decries that everyone seems to be talking and giving out information but few are receiving and digesting it. He took this as cue for starting his business. Look beyond your own business. You have to look around and study how the prevailing trends will affect your business although it has yet to happen. Early in this century Panay notes that people weren't yet ready to buy music by the download, but the way they found new music was shifting. Today record labels dominate, but tomorrow it could be companies like Apple or Starbucks launching new music or products and becoming major players. By looking beyond his front yard, Panay correctly saw that people were not necessarily interested in discovering music by walking into a record shop or watching MTV anymore. Revisit your alma mater. Panay recommends that you revisit your college and ask the current students where they want to work after graduation. "Looking where the brightest minds are flocking now can inform a lot of your decision making about the future," he says. When Panay studied business management at Berklee College of Music, all his fellow students wanted to become record company executives. "Today, if you ask the graduates of any school, they'll say they want to be in social media, or media. Technology is such a big part of the conversation." Kill your products before anyone else does. Ask yourself what trend could put you out of business then do something to get around that trend. In the case of Sonicbids, Panay foresaw the e-commerce trend toward free services and so it started to move away from imposing charging for applicants. To keep down the flooding, members get a limited number of free "tokens" allowing them to apply for gigs, after which they must pay. Think 'yes' not 'no.' When opportunity knocks, let it in. Sonicbids was intended as a pure matchmaking site, sort of a Monster.com for bands. But then the ad agency of Jeep came in, asking that Jeep drivers be allowed to vote for the band to appear at an upcoming Jeep event. Sonicbids said “yes” and that started the consumer brands part of its business. This branded business quickly became the main source of its revenue stream. The ability to recognize the new buzz words in business will get you acquainted with Titan Business Suites, which provides companies with full-service office plans. Nowadays, companies choose to save up on their resources and facilities by conducting their activities through complete office space and solutions providers like Titan Business Suites. TBS provides a full range of office, virtual office, administrative and meeting room services even as it offers a comfortable and professional atmosphere no matter the length of your stay or the needs of your business. Its highly trained administrative team is available to organizations on demand. Enhancing their productivity and helping their business perform more efficiently and effectively. TBS is available for short term projects, heavy workloads, client-scheduling needs, mail-out projects, data entry and much more. These services include: o Flexible lease terms from 3 to 12 months o Fully furnished offices o Friendly receptionists to Welcome Guests and answer your telephone calls o Rental rates, service charges, janitorial services and utilities included o Additional services include high speed business class internet, Cat6 cabling and bandwidth allocation options, as well as state-of-the-art Cisco telephone equipment, voice mail to email options and unsurpassed call answering services. o Fax, copy, scan & printing services available o Meeting rooms, breakout areas, business cafe and kitchen. o On demand administrative support services available For more information, please visit http://titanbusinesssuites.com/.

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