What industry trends can you leverage?

Leveraging industry trends is a key skill for any marketer who wants to stay ahead of the competition and create value for their customers. But how do you identify and use the trends that matter for your business? In this article, we'll share some tips and examples of how to leverage industry trends in your marketing strategy.

1 Know your industry

The first step to leverage industry trends is to know your industry well. You need to understand the current state, the challenges, the opportunities, and the future direction of your industry. You can do this by following industry news, reports, blogs, podcasts, and influencers. You can also conduct market research, competitor analysis, and customer feedback to get insights into your industry.

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2 Identify relevant trends

The next step is to identify the trends that are relevant for your business and your target audience. Not every trend will be applicable or beneficial for your marketing strategy. You need to filter out the noise and focus on the trends that align with your goals, values, and customer needs. You can use tools like Google Trends, BuzzSumo, or SEMrush to find out what topics, keywords, and content are trending in your industry.

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Michelle Fu

Marketing Manager (APAC) at SB Telecom Singapore | Top 1% LinkedIn Voice
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With so much information on the web, it is essential to identify trends with long-term growth. Otherwise a lot of time and money will be wasted on creating resources that are not relevant to creating a profitable business. Use a trend discovery tool to find trends suggestions based on reliable data. Identify long-term trends for topic stability and growth. One of the best methods is to use also see where consumers are spending their money, coupled with social listening tools like sprout social, hootsuite and more.

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3 Analyze the impact

Once you have a list of potential trends to leverage, you need to analyze the impact they will have on your business and your marketing strategy. You need to consider how the trends will affect your product, service, value proposition, positioning, pricing, distribution, and promotion. You also need to evaluate the risks, opportunities, and challenges that the trends will bring. You can use frameworks like SWOT, PESTEL, or Porter's Five Forces to analyze the impact of the trends.

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Gijsbertus J.J. van Wulfen

Award winning innovation keynote speaker helping you to create innovative mindsets at your event and your organisation. Contact me for a proven innovation method to double your effectiveness in 2025.
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A much better way is a SOAR analysis, as it takes a more positive approach. SOAR stands for Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results. Here's how the SOAR analysis framework works: 1. Strengths: Identify and leverage your organization's existing strengths and capabilities. Focus on what your company does well. 2. Opportunities: Identify external factors or trends that could create opportunities for your organization's growth or success. 3. Aspirations: Clearly define your organization's vision and goals. What do you want to achieve? Use this as a guide to steer your strategic decisions. 4. Results: Determine the specific outcomes or results you want to achieve. Think about the measurable impact and the desired end state.

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4 Adapt your strategy

The final step is to adapt your marketing strategy to leverage the trends that you have identified and analyzed. You need to create a plan of action that outlines how you will use the trends to achieve your marketing objectives. You need to define your target audience, your message, your channels, your budget, your timeline, and your metrics. You also need to test, monitor, and optimize your strategy based on the results and feedback.

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5 Learn from examples

To provide inspiration and ideas on how to use industry trends in your marketing strategy, some successful brands have done it well. Netflix, for instance, capitalized on the trend of online streaming and personalization to become a leader in the entertainment industry. Airbnb, on the other hand, utilized the trend of sharing economy and social media to revolutionize the travel industry and build a devoted community of hosts and guests. Nike leveraged the trend of social responsibility and activism to match its brand with its customers' values and causes. Similarly, Starbucks took advantage of the trend of mobile payments and loyalty programs to upgrade its customer experience and loyalty.

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6 Start today

Leveraging industry trends is not a one-time activity. It is a continuous process that requires you to stay updated, curious, and flexible. By following these steps and learning from these examples, you can leverage industry trends in your marketing strategy and gain a competitive edge in your industry.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Raj Jain

Co-Founder @ Springbok | MBA in Marketing
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I can leverage consumer packaged goods industry where I'd learned, mentored and developed as professional and entrepreneur in beauty, white/brown goods and consumer electronics.

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What industry trends can you leverage?

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1 Know your industry

2 Identify relevant trends

3 Analyze the impact

4 Adapt your strategy

5 Learn from examples

6 Start today

7 Here’s what else to consider

Marketing Strategy

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