The following consumer trends were noted by Hallmark, Inc., after studying the gift and greeting card purchases of its consumers:

The diverse nature of the American population through both ethnic groups and special interest groups, will be magnified, along with an increased appreciation for assorted styles, backgrounds and interests.

Women’s Relationships

As options for women continue to broaden, the “girlfriend” phenomenon will intensify as women look to each other for support, renewal, and sharing.

Quality Time

People will continue to demand more for their time and energy and will look for ways to simplify their lives. They will delegate some of their chores and responsibilities to others.

Quality of Life

The focus on individual quality of life will continue with more emphasis on what’s important and getting rid of what’s not.

Stress Reduction

Americans will continue to look for solutions to anger and stress, which could lead to new, more effective ways of communicating.

Technological Takeover

Look for the printed word to have to fight to keep its place in society as technology expands its power.

Consumer Power

An increased focus on the consumer, as the “consumer is always right” mindset is strengthened.

How can these lessons from a retailer apply to Realtors? Like retailers, Realtors will need to listen more closely to better serve consumer needs. Quality of life issues may affect the marketing of homes as Realtors learn to use relaxation and stress-reduction techniques in their communications with customers. Realtors will develop niche-marketing techniques to better serve the diverse social needs of our culture. Realtors will continue to cooperate with other Realtors to get the job done, relying on their peers for friendship as well as support in their businesses.

TRANSFORMING TOMORROW

In his book, Break Out of the Box, author Mike Vance shares the secret to transforming tomorrow by creating a corporate culture, “Cultures, of course, do not happen overnight. They evolve. Developing a culture is an ongoing process, one that must be encouraged and nurtured by careful planning. You may want the results as soon as possible, but what are you willing to do to help bring them about over time?

In working with companies, we find that, often, corporate leaders don’t analyze where they are at the beginning of the process. They don’t take the time to describe what the current culture is. An organization can’t get somewhere later if its leaders don’t know where it is now!”

What is going to happen next month, next quarter, next year to help you develop and instill the culture of your organization?