 Financial Trends - Shaping the Future
By Karen Hope, President of The Marketing Edge The
future is a serious business and if customers reach the future before you, they'll
leave you behind..."
- Faith Popcorn
You've heard of books like Boom, Bust & Echo and The Popcorn
Report. The authors study Canadian demographic and economic trends in order to predict
what the future might have in store for us. By studying trends, we can identify problems
and opportunities that may help or hinder us in the present and future. For example, in
1947-1966, there was the 'Baby Boom', when Canada saw a significant rise in birth rates.
From 1967-1979, there was a 'Baby Bust' period, where Canada saw a decrease in the rate of
births. Consequently in 1999, we have a high percentage of people between the ages of 35
and 45 and a low percentage of people between the ages of 20 and 30 years old.
Some of the opportunities that have arisen from these demographic
trends in 1999 are:
•businesses who target a 35-45 year old market have a larger
potential than businesses who target the 20 - 30 year old markets;
•the demand for empty-nester adult-living homes is rising;
•due to a shortage of youth manpower, there are more part-time
jobs available for people 50+ who want to subsidize their retirement income.
Trends are helpful when designing a marketing or business plan. They
can help you chart the future impact on your business. If you are looking to start a new
business, you might want to research Canadian trends that may indicate a growing or
declining market. For example, if you were thinking about opening a day care centre, you
might want to research whether the trends towards having babies is growing or declining.
Canadian trends indicate that Albertans are having babies at a steady
rate, however, it is not a growth market. The number of births in Alberta started to fall
after 1984, from 45,000 per year, bottoming out at below 40,000 births per year in 1998.
Births are predicted to rise marginally through the years 2000 - 2015, not exceeding
41,000 births per year.
If there is already a sufficient supply of daycare centres in the
marketplace, you may want to reconsider opening another one.
Conversely, if you were to open a business targeting people forty five
years and older, you would be targeting the strongest demographic market in Alberta. The
45-54 year old group will nearly double in size from now until 2016. If you were opening
an adult living complex, demographic trends would be in your favour.
By studying trends, you can also identify threats and opportunities for
an existing business. Existing daycare businesses may not see future potential for growth.
While gardening, travel and eyewear businesses may want to start increasing their
selection, services and marketing budgets.
If you are not up-to-date on Canadian trends, buy Faith Popcorn's
latest book or explore other publications available at the library or in book stores. For
national and provincial demographic trends, you can refer to Stats Canada's website: www.statcan.ca
Trends offer valuable information which can identify factors that may
affect your personal or business life. Instead of waiting for something to happen, you can
be a step ahead of the game and prepare yourself for change.
Karen Hope is the President of The Marketing Edge Inc. and the
Vice-President of Cattle Boyz Foods Ltd. Contact Karen at 403 262 9366, karen@marketingedge.ab.ca
or visit her website at: www.marketingedge.ab.ca |
