The Problem and Paradox of Trends
When I look at your business, do I see you or do I see a trend?
If all I see is a trend (in terms of visual branding, language, product/service design, social media use, etc.) you’re not telling me much about you, you’re telling me you know how to follow directions.
Aha! But!
Here is the paradox.
We need trends. The goal is not, and could never be, to be rid of them. It’s not about throwing out trends. That's 1) not possible—we live in community and trends are a vital part of that, and b) not desirable—you don’t want to remind people of nothing.
We need trends to:
- Orient ourselves quickly (“Oh! I see what they do/care about”)
- Place something in a larger frame of understanding ("What else does this remind me of?")
- Understand if something is for us (Someone like me eats here, shops here, donates to this cause, hires this kind of support… because "People like us do things like this” h/t Seth Godin)
Trends are signals. They are powerful modes of communication. They say, “This is for people like you!!” far quicker than language alone ever could.
A trend gives roots, it honours lineage. It shows where you came from and what you were informed by. (This is true for product design, service practitioners, retail space… anyone and anything.)
Again, trends are a vital part of being in community.
So here’s the paradox and the ‘third space’ this leaves us in from a business perspective…
Yes, we want to honour and hook into broader business/branding/cultural trends, but a brand based solely on trend lacks substance. It also lacks stability and leadership, because it's only taking direction from outside of itself.
A brand should be distinct, recognizable to itself because it belongs to itself. It is accountable to its own spirit*.
(*aka its own values, purpose, direction, ethics… that's where inner direction/leadership comes in.)
When we look at your work, we want to know who you are.
What does this tell me about you?
What do you care about?
What is your work in favour of?
Where. are. you. in. all. of. this.?
Most of us don’t need to be encouraged to follow trends. We’re well aware of what the industry norms are when it comes to visual branding, product design, service or pricing structure, growth expectations, etc.
What we do need a reminder of is to locate ourselves within it all.
What is the business we actually want to run?
How do we want to market?
Where do we want to grow?
What are we willing to stand for?
What matters to us, and how will we show that through the structure, pricing, marketing, and visual identity of our business?
There is safety in a trend, there is profit in a brand.
When we see your work… what comes to mind first?
The trend, or the brand.
The market, or the person.
To be profitable as a small business, you must be distinct.
Could we mistake your writing for someone else's? Could we confuse your product with someone else's? Do we know you made this without looking at the tag?
If you are not willing to show us what makes you different, being in business becomes a very expensive proposition. You have to do things the way everyone else does but better. You have to be louder, faster, or cheaper to win. Capitalism is, in many ways, built on this “race to the bottom”.
As a small business, you cannot compete on price. You cannot pay to be in front of everyone. And you do not have the same economies of scale.
You need to—get to—stand for something specific.
You need to—get to—be yourself.
Again: We shouldn’t be able to confuse you with someone else, or mistake you for another brand.
The trend should be the familiar wrapping. It’s the hook I can immediately hang you on in my brain. But when I keep looking, I should get more information that tells me who you are as a business and why that matters to you.
We should be rewarded for looking closely.
That’s the lesson here:
Take the box, the outline, but don’t be afraid to colour it in.
Familiar, but new.
Relevant, but distinct.
Let us see you,
