Sometimes you see a business evolve and think, “I wish I'd thought of that.” With his trademark razor-sharp style, Laermer reveals the most functional forecasting secrets of professional trendspotters, which he divides into nine categories:
1. Read the signs
5. Ask experts the right questions
6. Seek out visionaries and snub fakers
Question: How might alliances with large companies enhance a new venture's ability to build 'investment readiness,' thereby attracting investment capital?
Richard Laermer: Everything about marketing will change. Everything. The truth is — consumers are now smarter than we marketers are. So in the near future, they will need ABSOLUTELY NOTHING from us (now they only need a little) because content will be gotten from a zillion sources, including toasters (you can imagine, right, a toaster that gives you viral videos on one side). And I also see marketers getting a bigger role in BEING THE ADVOCATE... in other words, not just assuming they know the product because they use it but going out there and finding out angles/good news/bad news/ideas/whatever from the consumers themselves since we are closer than ever to the consumer in this networked world.
Question: What would you say is the most important one thing that someone who is looking to start a business should consider?
Question: I have noticed an influx of companies spending large amounts of money on SEM — do you think that there will be a "crash" where this no longer works and if so — how soon?
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