10 Marketing Trends to Watch in 2007

Throughout 2006, I've been watching and interpreting the marketing stats and studies that impact small businesses to give you tips on staying one step ahead. Now, with 2007 fast approaching, let's look at a roundup of the hottest trends, from changes taking place among consumer audiences through what to watch for in traditional and online marketing.

Here's the info you need on the most important trends and how to make the most of them to increase sales and grow your business in the New Year.

Consumer Trends

1. College Grads: If you're searching for the most effective way to reach this desirable prospect group, move your marketing dollars into online media. The Internet is now the primary source of media and entertainment among college grads, whose top planned purchases upon graduation are professional clothing, travel/airline tickets, health insurance and furniture according to the "Y2M: eGrad College Graduate Survey." Nearly 80% of respondents are online purchasers, making them ideal candidates for your online campaign.

2. Affluent Working Women: The big news is that this group is increasing in size, and the best way to reach them may be online. According to The Media Audit, affluent working women with family incomes of $75,000 or more are growing in number, and 94.3% access the Internet during an average month. About half are now considered heavy users of the Internet, while heavy use of radio, television, newspapers and direct mail has all declined within this group. To increase sales from this expanding audience, alter your media spending to place greater emphasis online.

3. Asian Population Growth: The southern region of the U.S. boasts the fastest Asian population growth rate (31%), followed by the Midwest (24%), the Northeast (23%) and the West (19%), according to an analysis of Census Bureau data in the "American Community Survey" by Kang & Lee Advertising. Asians represent a prospect group with higher-than-average household incomes and education levels. Can you offer a product or service that will appeal to this growing market?

4. Word-of-Mouth: Want to build buzz? Lucid Marketing's study, "U.S. Adults: Word of Mouth Communications," found that women were more likely than men to share a positive experience with a business or recommend an enjoyable product; full-time employees made substantially more daily contacts than those not in the workforce; and people with household earnings of more than $100,000 were more likely to make recommendations than those earning less. So buzz marketers should direct efforts to these three "chatty" groups.

Trends in Traditional Media

5. Yellow Pages: According to a study from the Kelsey group, marketers targeting younger demographics should transition away from print. Only 28% of teens said they would turn to print Yellow Pages first to find a local business, product, or service, while 47% said their first choice would be search engines. And just 44% of respondents between the ages and 18 and 34 favored print Yellow Pages.

6. Simultaneous Media Usage: There's no longer such thing as a captive media audience -- consumers are frequently participating in more than one form of media at any one time. About 70% of Web users, for instance, watch TV occasionally to regularly while online, according to BIGresearch's "Simultaneous Media Survey." It also found that nearly 65% watch TV while they read, and 51% of radio listeners read the newspaper while listening. The rise in multitasking among consumers mandates an integrated media approach and an increased emphasis on advertising within the most relevant and engaging content.