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12 for 12: Predictions in business and branding
The Future of Recycling
Trailblazing brands pushing the boundaries of recycling are set to win market share and increase brand equity in 2012. Companies like Nike, Patagonia, Garnier and DELL lead the way, helping their customers recycle ALL of their products (not just the component parts, like batteries or packaging, but entire shoes, computers, clothing lines and beauty product ranges) .
The carrot of these success stories, together with the stick of sharper consumer criticism and new legislation will encourage many other brands to follow suit.
Expect more from: Patagonia
Employee equity
Brands with strong values adopted and fully understood by a communicative workforce will achieve great things in 2012. Empowered employees with a full understanding of their company’s mission statement, brand values and future goals will implement these at every level of the business. Facebook is a great example of a company undergoing meteoric growth, thanks (in part) to its brand values being understood, embraced and developed by the workforce.
Waitrose is a more traditional example of an empowered workforce showing loyalty and commitment to their company and brand.
Flawsomeness
Brands showing more of a human side, including their flaws, will be awesome for 2012 consumers, according to Trendwatching.
While the global ‘Occupy’ protests focussed their anger on the financial markets, a record level of disgust at corporate greed was displayed in 2011. Brands who can communicate honestly and openly with consumers are likely to do well in 2012. An interesting example of corporate transparency came last summer, as Domino’s rented a large billboard space in New York’s Times Square, where both good and bad customer feedback was live streamed via Twitter on to the digital hoarding.
Expect even greater things from: Triodos
Simplexity
According to Forbes, simple answers to complex questions will win out in 2012. People’s desire for simplicity grows in parallel with the increasing intricacy of modern life, resulting in the convergence of complex services and products into clear, expectation-exceeding solutions. Brands need to really understand their own position and offering to give their customers that ‘wow’ experience. This will be a clear case of brands owning self-knowledge and creative intuition going far.
Expect great things from: Apple
Seamless Sharing
Microblogging, social networks and information portals combine to a greater degree. Businesses will have to work harder across all platforms to ensure their message is simple, coherent and ‘on-brand’.
If your brand does not have a coherent, voice, vision and strategy shared both with customers and throughout the workforce the end result is likely to be a confusion of mixed messages. Spending time getting your communications strategy right will pay dividends in 2012.
Expect even greater things from: Delta Airlines
Co-operate to survive
According to many business leaders, co -operation will play a bigger role in building the economy in 2012 than competition will. Richard Branson, Jeffrey Sachs, and Charles Leadbetter all agree that a more co-operative, reciprocal, symbiotic approach to business dealings and finance will benefit businesses and consumers alike.
Read more on the topic from: Charles Leadbetter in The Guardian
Retaining talent in the team
While the UK faces a bleak economic outlook and a potential return of recession in 2012, individual companies will benefit from retaining knowledge within the business. Keeping IT staff will be a particular challenge in 2012 - unemployment rates are low within this profession as job opportunities continue to emerge. Talented programmers leaving key positions can slow company growth significantly, as their understanding of bespoke systems leaves too.
Read more about this from: Network World
Mobile Wallet
One of the surest predictions of 2012 appears to be the rise of mobile purchasing. As technology becomes more robust, more providers come on board, and the adoption of smart phones rises worldwide, the switch to using mobiles as payment devices will affect purchasing patterns dramatically in 2012.
Expect great things from: Google
Emerging Maturialism
Traditionally conservative consumers in emerging markets are set to embrace more honest, frank, and potentially risqué brand messages in 2012. With an increasingly urban global consumer market, brands who push boundaries are likely to push up profits.
Comment from the horse’s mouth: Trendwatching
Fragmentation of mass markets
Niche markets continue to grow as mass markets disintegrate. The pharmaceutical industry is a good example of this, as better diagnosis and gene sequencing methods produce increasingly specific – and more accurate – medicines. The result is serving smaller markets higher quality products, rather than a broad mass of consumers making do with generic solutions.
This fracturing of mass markets will be profitable for companies who understand their consumer base, listen to their feedback and tailor their products and services accordingly.
Read more about this from: Forbes
Social Listening
While most businesses are growing to understand and utilise the power of social media to speak directly to their customers, many are simply not listening to the feedback, nor using this to aid future brand strategy. Companies who do as much listening as talking will fare best in 2012, whether they be small start-ups looking for market research to inform their first marketing campaign, or large multinationals wishing to measure brand equity of consumers across continents.
We found a useful overview of the most current social listening tools last month on Slideshare.
Find out more from: Rosie Siman
Differentiation
Ultimately, we see that to make your business great, you, your customers and your staff need to understand what your brand stands for and why it is different – and better – than the rest.
Brands who truly differentiate themselves within the marketplace will prosper in 2012, and for years to come.
Read more about this from: Steve Fuller at The House