5 Tips on Forecasting the Future - Web Design Forum Graphic Design Site Templates Flash CSS Discussions

samy34 · #1 07-08-2010, 07:51 AM

Hi

Develop meaningful sales forecasts in terms of basic business units. Predict weekly sales for the first few months and monthly sales for the first year. Consider possible scenarios, such as a 10 percent rise or fall in sales.

Develop profiles for your products or services, customers and markets.

Know how customers will buy from you.

Plan how you will make your product or service available to them─wholesale, retail, direct or Internet.

Develop a plan or strategy to follow if your sales forecasts completely miss your predictions.

thanks

claudia123 · #2 07-11-2010, 09:03 AM

1.Develop meaningful sales forecasts in terms of basic business units. Predict weekly sales for the first few months and monthly sales for the first year. Consider possible scenarios, such as a 10 percent rise or fall in sales.

2.Develop profiles for your products or services, customers and markets.

3.Know how customers will buy from you.

4.Plan how you will make your product or service available to them─wholesale, retail, direct or Internet.

5. Develop a plan or strategy to follow if your sales forecasts completely miss your predictions

james01 · #3 07-16-2010, 11:43 AM

At the first mention of 'trend forecasting', it is inevitable that many of us will immediately think of fashion and what the next big trend to hit the catwalk will be.
However trend forecasting is a far more complex undertaking than merely discerning whether we should be dressing like 80s rejects straight off the set of Dynasty, toting outlandish feathered headdresses or indulging in the latest trend for 'homeless chic' - and no this is not just some bizarre fashion trend I've just made up, there really is an (oxy)moronic trend for looking like a dapper tramp.
Trends are of course not limited to fashion - they affect all sectors of business and society. Contrary to the general perception, trend forecasting is also not something that can be done by merely gazing into a crystal ball, rather it takes in depth research, observation and application and when done correctly it can prove invaluable to business success. Numerous companies have made it their business to predict the consumer trends of the future and filter this information back to those that produce consumer goods.
Kjaer Global is one such company and its passionate and enthusiastic CEO is Anne Lise Kjaer, a leading global futurist and trend forecaster. For Kjaer, trend tracking is an integral business tool that can help give companies that all important insight into the demands and needs of their consumers. "Tracking trends is a crucial way to be informed about society and understand people, their behaviour, needs and mindset, and how that could impact the future," Kjaer explains.Eco-Easy: While the current good intentions of corporations and consumers are helpful, serious eco-results will depend on making products and processes more sustainable without consumers even noticing it, and, if necessary, not leaving much room for consumers and companies to opt for less sustainable alternatives to begin with. This will often mean forceful, if not painful, government intervention, or some serious corporate guts, or brilliantly smart design and thinking, if not all of those combined.
Maturialism:Let's face it: 2010 will be rawer, more opinionated, more risqué, more in your face than ever before. Your audiences (who are by now thoroughly exposed to, well, anything, for which you can thank first and foremost the anything-goes online universe) can handle much more quirkiness, more daring innovations and more risqué communications and conversations than traditional marketers could have ever dreamed of.