What is it about your business that makes people smile? How do you give back to mother nature? And how do you combine those things with social growth?  Do you deliver information in such a way that people become convinced they must buy your product?

Keep an eye out for the four trends I describe below in 2011/2012. They prepare you for what to expect and how to act regarding your customers. If you anticipate these trends you can make them your strengths and have fun with them! You can start right away by asking yourself the questions I pose in this article. If you want more information, please let me know at esmee@studiobranding.nl. The visual article is to be found here.

1. Reflection

Something changed over the last few years across the globe; the focus has shifted from personal success to social interaction. We’ve started to value relationships and maintaining those relationships more than ever. Spiritual activities, books and philosophies have soared in popularity as well. It seems that we are rethinking how to spend the time we have in our precious lives. As we look to spend our time in more socially and spiritually conscious ways, we seek out activities that reflect this new train of thought. Initiatives like ‘Networking Festival”, a 3-day networking event where you can meet new business partners and friends at meet-ups & workshops, are examples of this new trend. Another is ‘Unity Express’, a train that drives through Europe and strives to generate close relationships between like-minded people. It’s about exchanging services, helping each other, and ultimately benefitting mother earth as well. Personal growth and meaningful connections are what we are longing for. We are in the highest layer in the Maslov pyramid.

Take this trend into consideration in your business practices. Highlight the personal aspects as well as the social values your product or service offers. Show what can be accomplished for mother earth. Key things to think about include:

2. Ecotechnology

As we treat life more as a precious phenomenon, we want to know more about the food we buy in the supermarket and what we put in our bodies. That places eco-technology at the forefront of our thoughts. We think about where the food comes from, how it’s made, and whether it’s environmentally friendly. For example, if we discovered the fish on our grocery store was endangered we probably wouldn’t buy it. Holland’s Marqt and Ruudmaaz supermarket is ahead of this trend, providing customers with background information on products as well as local farming information. Across the globe, seasonal products are becoming the preferred choice, and people are increasingly growing their own food, particularly herbs and veggies, at home. Modern technology goes hand in hand with this thinking because it enables us to live more efficient, sustainable, and eco-friendly lives. Many people choose their products based on the optimal combination of technical efficiency and eco-friendliness. One such product is the Ibasket, a machine that washes and dries at the same time and automatically turns off.

Regardless of your company, you can probably incorporate the main concerns of eco-technology somehow. Think about the quality and quantity of information your brand delivers. Think about what information can influence the buying process for your customer. Key ideas to keep in mind are:

fairness and transparency
do-it-yourself
food technology with advanced information
hyper intelligent machines let us handle more efficiently

3. Smile Factory

Given the current state of the world, it’s natural for people to feel insecure about the future and seek comfort in nostalgia. We also look for warmth in our families and friends to compensate for the tough environment. Both the media and politics tend to evoke “the good old days,” idealizing a time when life was more simple. It makes sense then, that the average customer desires trusted, time-proven items like handcrafted goods and traditionally made products.

Families in particular are actively seeking out products and businesses that provide comfort, that make them smile, and that create a sense of nostalgia. A wonderful local example is a ‘cognactheek,’ a shop exclusively filled with special types of brandy, sold with love. Another popular example is a gourmet bakery that makes delicious specialty breads with funny names like ‘bommy and pinsy’. These breads are well known for their certain medicinal qualities ranging from improving your digestion to giving you shiny hair.

Regardless of your business, you absolutely have the ability to make people smile. Notice what aspects of your services or products have this happy-inducing quality and keep them going! Advertise those aspects and use great visuals to make them really stand out. Key ideas to think about are:

make people forget insecurities and smile
tradition and handcraft
detail makes the difference

4. Connection

The modern individual chooses to be connected all the time.  There are some individuals who are so good at managing their connections that they actually make a profit from it! They’ve created huge networks, smartly leveraged certain relationships, and ultimately created value from their connections. Many companies are jumping on the social media/ networking bandwagon too. I predict that, within a couple of years, customer social values, as well as online network values, will be adopted in the way shareholders are treated as well. Business people aren’t the only ones benefiting this boom in connections. Students are being educated for jobs in this arena that don’t even exist yet. Particular  ‘underground societies’ and movements can establish themselves rapidly with these new connecting tools.  Being connected 24/7 contributes to the fact that we will work on a profit and priority basis in new work streams, because we can work always and everywhere. Organizations will set-up new ways of connecting with everyone that has an opinion to solve worldwide problems in a more democratic way. Successful utilizations of this concept include BetterMeans, Stand-up Inspiration, and 7 Days of Inspiration.

When thinking about your own business in relation to this trend, consider how your brand connect with customers. Think about how you shape value in those moments and messages. Also think about the media you use to get that message across. Key ideas to keep in mind are:

sharing is multiplying
always and everywhere
it’s all about value

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Article written by Esmée Schonfeldt from Studio Branding for CRAVE Amsterdam. Studio Branding investigates signals of the street and translates them to concrete influences for the branding of labels and companies. It delivers three services - trend research, image research and brand development – led by Esmée Schönfeldt.