Analyzing Market Trends in 2020 & Beyond: The Magic is in the Microdata

Analyzing Market Trends in 2020 & Beyond: 

The Magic is in the Microdata

Market trends are the number one thing to watch when starting your business. Understanding data and how to use it is essential for success. It’s more than essential; it’s practically oxygen if you plan on standing out in what’s becoming so incredibly saturated that you can practically FEEL the stickiness through your keyboard: Welcome to ecommerce. 

We sat down with the data-king himself, Mike Rubini, founder of the Saas company RubiniSolutions. His background in competitive intelligence and data collection is what makes his software so leading-edge and vital for today’s online business owner. 

Rubini’s latest brainchild and SaaS project, Treendly, captures rising trends and early-stage concepts, products and ideas in your industry.

Data is growing exponentially and businesses are having issues with storage so this slick software solves collection problems and fragmentation. His concept takes all the data and centralizes it in one software. 

When you’re on the ground level of starting your business, you can copy your competitor to a certain point but once you get to a certain level, you’ll need an advantage over your competitor. Not only do you need to stand out but you need a better grasp on key data and what’s trending in the market. 

He says to look for clues in the microdata. Number of reviews is a clue. What’s being said in the comments from all of the platforms is a clue. But still, go further: analyze the clues and come up with a better product or service by looking at pros and cons. So many people just look at bad reviews and call it a day, but there’s gold in the positive reviews as well. This is how you do market research and find out what the trends are. 

Amazon businesses use product research software to find new products but the market is insanely saturated with new sellers. And now with COVID-19, people are realizing that the data and numbers aren’t totally accurate. You can’t skim the surface and rely on easy-to-reach data. 

Rubini says,

“Ecommerce isn’t ‘plug & play…people want to throw up a product and sell quickly but it’s not realistic. We rely too much on our perception, rather than hard data, which is a good way to see if something is actually working or not.”

Remember: Everyone is using the same software, using the same parameters and looking at the same products. 

Google trends are for searching things you’ve already heard of so that’s where Treendly comes in – to find things you haven’t thought of but they’re getting traction. The software also collects micro-data from places such as Reddit trends, forum conversations and basically finds out what the word is on the “digital streets.” 

Don’t rely on Google trends or some random “guru” you find on YouTube. That information is limited and not based on actual current trends in the market. Go look at what people are pinning on Pinterest, what are people saying on Facebook? See if it’s more than a trend, are people really talking about this certain thing? Do the work if you want your business to succeed.

It’s true that we’re in uncertain times and no one knows what the market or ecommerce or anything for that matter, will look like. But history is a great predictor and people are resilient. 

Rubini predicts consumers will spend even more money after the pandemic lightens up and be ready to engage in shopping, travel and experiences BIG TIME. Even though businesses have shut down and people have lost income, people have found new ways to earn money and this’ll only grow. 

For online businesses, you sell convenience and you sell logistics. Right now, you get your high-quality products to someone’s doorstep in no time. It’s great. And in the future, you’ll sell based on knowing your customer even more. The goal is to become what Rubini calls a “recommendation partner” by knowing them more than anyone. By suggesting things to your customer they don’t even know they want. In this way, you’re being helpful by utilizing the data. 

It’s clear that the market will become more saturated with me-too products, especially since many people are transitioning to an online world with the virus outbreak. And some are analyzing their lives and wanting to free up more time or dictate their own schedule (which is why many of us start ecommerce businesses). 

Bottom line: you need to study market trends, research and analyze microdata and create an actual brand. You have to master communication on why your customer needs your product over competitors and create the emotional connection that’s necessary when buying a product. 

Times are changing, as they always do, and you have to commit to understanding your market and running a fine tooth comb through every platform and forum any customer can be found. 

Go on IG, study competitors and their followers – see what they’re interested in and enhance your product. Treendly – does all the work for you showing market trends. It analyzes platforms such as Youtube, Amazon, Google and more, and it’ll show what keywords and queries are showing up on those platforms, as well as discussions from forums all across the web. 

Rubini leaves us with this nugget:

“The weaknesses of your competitors equals your unique value proposition.” 

 

Solidify your brand, become a true “partner” to your customer, and study your market like it’s your job, because it is.