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Spot The Next Hot Trend
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Article 3: Trend Or Fad?
Can you tell the difference between a pet rock and a video tape recorder? If so, you know the difference between a fad and a trend. But it’s not always so cut and dried.
Not all fads are frivolous or inexpensive, and not all trends are the opposite.
If you’re in business for the long term, you’ll be better off if you can discern the difference between fads and trends, and concentrate on the latter. Although there’s money to be made by catering to faddish appetites, in the long-run there is a steadier and more reliable stream of revenue in capitalizing on trends.
By definition, a fad is “a fashion that is taken up with great enthusiasm for a brief period of time.” It’s synonymous with a craze, and has all the markings of a whim or something frivolous. Think hula hoops. Mood rings. The latest pop star.
By comparison, a trend constitutes the “general direction in which something tends to move.” It connotes a tendency or an inclination, not merely a momentary blip on the commercial radar screen. Think television. Computers. Cell phones.
Certainly, there have been numerous fads that have been profitable. Millions of the Frisbee flying discs were sold. But by their very nature, fads are short-lived experiences that generally disappear as quickly as they arrive.
The difficulty in capitalizing on fads is that the buying public is fickle. Since fads have fleetingly brief life spans, by the time you’ve recognized the latest craze, it’s probably already fading from the public’s fascination.
Trends, on the other hand, indicate something much different. They are longer term experiences. Trends indicate where buying habits are going, and usually growing. Think of fads as sound bites and trends as novels.
With this in mind, attune your business antenna to pick up signs of trends, and to tune out fads, which probably will only cost you money playing catch-up, rather than make you money riding the crest of a wave.
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