As the recession continues into 2010, we take a look at the trends we’re expecting this year – and the opportunities that are presenting themselves for businesses positioned to take advantage:

1. Be Honest.  The trend towards Corporate Social Responsibility looks set to continue – which is great in my book.  Consumers are demanding more transparency and honesty and, as a result, more customers are shopping locally again and using suppliers they trust.
2. Mobile Internet.  Teenagers are increasingly using mobile internet, rather than fixed line broadband.  This trend looks set to continue with the increase in mobile phone technology and, if you’re targeting teenagers, it’s something you need to be aware of now.
3. Niche Markets.  In marketing, we used to work off Pareto’s principle – 20% of your customers typically brought you 80% of your business, so you would focus on what that 20% wanted.  But the internet is changing the rules and giving people an endless choice.  As a result, niche marketing can now prove very profitable – particularly since you can tap into niche’s worldwide at the tap of a button.
4. Self Employment.  Throughout last year, many companies down-sized and made people redundant.  Consequently, business start-ups are increasing, as people choose to take their fate into their own hands.  The growing number of start-ups will provide endless opportunities for some companies.
5. Wellness.  Baby Boomers remain a significant proportion of our economy and they have always driven trends.  Now approaching retirement age, they don’t want to grow old and they don’t want to end up in care (as they’ve seen their parents do.)  They are therefore driving a ‘wellness’ revolution for anti-ageing, exercise classes, cosmetic surgery etc. to keep them young.

Check back tomorrow for another 5 trends to watch this year.

Did you know…Britons donated over £23 million to the Haiti appeal – and that’s just in the first week.  We were donating approximately £120 a minute in the first few days.  Is it just me, or do you find that incredible when we are still deep in recession and just receiving our post-Christmas credit card bills.

When the tragedy hit, I watched with interest from a marketing point of view.  I wondered how people would handle a crisis on this level when we were struggling here.  I was also interested to discover whether tragedies such as this may start to suffer from ‘white noise’, as they seem to be happening with increasing frequency.  (I was thrilled that my concerns were not realised and that we once again showed our generosity and desire to help people less fortunate than ourselves.)

Buoyed by this public support, the British government has trebled it’s assistance from £6m to £20m and dwarfed donations from other European countries; further bolstering the national effort.

So, what does this mean for your business?

The important thing is that Britons have a strong sense of justice and fairness.  We always support the underdogs and will assist others less fortunate than ourselves, even when we are struggling.  This trend seems to have been unaffected by the recession.

Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed an increasing trend towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ‘ethical marketing techniques’.  But many companies are simply giving this lip service because it seems to sell more products.  What has just happened in Haiti should signal a trend that our customers will support causes – interestingly; whilst organic product sales have fallen in the recession, fair trade sales have increased.

This is a trend which has increasing importance with your customers.  And it’s something you can use to bolster your marketing.  It will also give you a feel-good factor – as long as you do the right thing and don’t put greed ahead of ethics.