Trend watcher (Trendwatcher)

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A trend watcher is a person who specializes in identifying trends. An important addition to this is that it concerns trends that have not yet been discovered or picked up by other people or organizations. A trend watcher is therefore a specialist who tries to recognize trends and will respond to them. For companies, it is very important that they get to know new trends at an early stage, so that they can respond to the trends in a fast and good way. In order to be able to recognize new trends, it is important that a trend watcher gathers a lot of information by, for example, visiting trade fairs or by reading a lot. A trend watcher is usually specialized in a certain field, such as clothing, jewelry, phones or in the computer field. A trend watcher looks for trends and not for hypes, because hypes are generally, but short-lived. A trend, on the other hand, will persist for a longer period of time. So there is an important difference between trends and hypes. A trend watcher looks for possible trends by picking up signals at an early stage, which are becoming increasingly powerful. Picking up new trends at an early stage is important, because in some cases new trends can quickly grow into a fad. It is therefore very important for companies to be able to respond to new trends in the right way. Consider, for example, the timely development of new products in order to be one of the first to enter the market with the new product. The profession of trend watcher should also be seen as fairly general, because there are many different types of trend watchers, who can work within different industries. In general, trend watchers use various methods to discover possible trends. Think, for example, of reading blogs, following vloggers and visiting international fairs.

A trend watcher is therefore someone who specializes in discovering new trends. Picking up new trends at an early stage is important for the business community to be able to respond successfully to them. By responding early, a company can gain great advantages over the possible competition, such as by entering into a partnership or by creating an advertising campaign at an early stage aimed at the new trend. Because a trend watcher is important for companies, a trend watcher is usually looking all over the world for new opportunities for companies and consumers. But also reading blogs and trade journals is something that a good trend watcher will spend a lot of time on. In addition, trend watchers can follow well-known vloggers. As described earlier, the profession of trend watcher occurs in practice in different ways. In most cases, trend watchers are specialized in certain fields. So it's not like trend watchers will pick up on all the new possible trends. As described earlier, a trend is not a hype.

IN WHICH INDUSTRY IS A TREND WATCHER ACTIVE

A trend watcher actually occurs in all branches, but most people will know a trend watcher from the fashion industry and the technical industry, because these branches often renew quickly. In order to provide consumers with new trends, it is important that companies are always looking for new trends and opportunities. That people will know a trend watcher in these two industries is not very surprising, because the fashion industry and the technical industry are very large and can often be followed directly via television and social media.

WHAT MAKES SOMEONE A GOOD TREND WATCHER

It's hard to pinpoint what makes someone a good trend watcher. In general, we can say that someone must be eager to learn and have a good nose for new developments in the market. In addition, it is of course important that you as a trend watcher have sufficient professional knowledge within the industry where you work. In addition to searching for new trends, as trend watchers you must also be able to convert a trend into a working business model. Making a business model as a trend watcher will not apply to all trend watchers, because other specialists can also be called in for this, such as a marketer or advertising designer depending on your client or employer. In addition, a trend watcher will actively follow all major tech blogs to stay up to date with the latest trends.

DISCOVERING NEW MARKETS

Discovering new possibilities and converting them into a working business model is something that usually sounds easier than actually doing it. The large well-known companies usually spend a lot of time and money on this in order to be able to keep innovating. In addition to discovering new trends, the various companies are usually also very active themselves to use new opportunities. In addition to the trend that arises spontaneously, there are trends that require years of preparation, such as making 3D printers. The 3D printers have been around for years now, but not yet so far refined that everyone wants to have one at home. For example, 3D printers are useful in industry to be able to print certain products.

WHAT DOES A TREND WATCHER DO:

TRAINING TO BECOME A TREND WATCHER

There are no specific training courses through usual schools for the profession trend watcher. However, there are of course plenty of courses that have common ground with the profession of trend watcher and can possibly help you to grow as a trend watcher, such as a bachelor's degree in business economics. The training opportunity for the profession trend watcher can of course differ per sector where you work. A trend watcher in the fashion field will follow a different training than a specialist in the IT field. In addition, as a trend watcher you can of course also appoint yourself as a trend watcher, because the profession has no further protection. But as a trend watcher within the business world, you will of course have to have the right education, and usually have to have at least a completed hbo education. Accounting is also important as an entrepreneur.

COMPANIES WHERE A TREND WATCHER CAN BE EMPLOYED

A trend watcher can actually work in all conceivable industries. Depending on the type of company where the trend watcher works, the profession of trend watcher can also occur under other names such as the name futurist. A futurist is someone who tries to predict the future like future trends. As a trend watcher, it is certainly conceivable that you will work as an entrepreneur. Think, for example, of fashion designers or clothing sellers who work as independent entrepreneurs.

COMPETENCES TREND WATCHER

As a trend watcher, your most important competence is insight and vision, because you are the right person to come up with new ideas and possibilities that can help an organization further. Decisiveness and perseverance are also important words within the field, as is enthusiasm, so that you know how to get the right people on board. Within the profession of trend watcher, networking and communication play a major role, because you will have to consult a lot with different people and you prefer that people approach you with possible trends. Finally, as a trend watcher, you must of course have a commercial attitude, because a working business model is important. Generally important words are insight, negotiation, persuasion, knowledge, cooperation, consultation, analytical, innovation, inspiration, creativity and enthusiasm.

LABOUR MARKET PERSPECTIVE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS A TREND WATCHER

There is not really a labour market perspective for the profession of trend watcher, because as a trend watcher you will in many cases work as an independent entrepreneur. As described earlier, the profession also occurs within the business community, but there are not many vacancies for the profession. The career opportunities as a trend watcher must be seen in constantly coming up with the right trends and ideas, so that the business community and perhaps production companies will increasingly engage you. In addition, it is conceivable that a good trend watcher can eventually grow into an innovation manager.

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY TREND WATCHER

There are no examples of the employment conditions as a trend watcher, because a trend watcher can work for various types of companies, governments and institutions that use different collective agreements. A trend watcher who has a bachelor's degree will generally earn a salary between 3500 and 5000 euros gross per month depending on age, education and further responsibilities. A higher salary is certainly conceivable within this profession if you have many responsibilities.

The content on this page has been automatically translated from the Dutch language. For this reason, texts and videos on this page may contain small errors.

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