Trend radar software offers a wide variety of teams orientation and decision-making confidence, especially in the dynamic market and competitive environment we find ourselves in today.
But what is a trend radar and what functions and advantages does trend radar software offer? That's exactly what we're going to address in this blog post and would like to help you make a decision.
Table of contents
Definition trend radar software
By trend radar software we mean a collaborative software tool that supports and simplifies trend analysis. Essentially, a digital trend radar helps teams or companies to understand which external mega and macro trends influence them today and in the future, which pose a threat or an opportunity for innovation.
The external trends in the trend radar are evaluated based on various trends. Usually in the form of a questionnaire, internal or external participants are asked for an assessment, whose different perspectives are then presented in suitable evaluation graphics.
These semicircular visualizations, which give the software tool its name, are often used in trend radars. This example compares the assessment of multiple trends and segments. The further a point = megatrend moves into the middle of the semicircle, the greater its influence.
The results can then be segmented and compared to benchmarks to provide the most complete picture possible. In this way, teams or companies can identify potential threats or completely new innovation opportunities that arise from external trends at a glance.
In the digital trend radar, everything works much easier and faster than with manual trend research and analysis, which usually requires a lot of manual effort to create PowerPoint presentations that all too often end up in a drawer.
There are many different terms for working with trends: trend analysis, trend management, trend scouting and many more. It is important that you do not allow yourself to be confused by the many different terms and offers, because in principle it is always about understanding trends and their influence.
When are trend radars used?
Trend radars are used to understand the influence of external developments on your own team or company and to create a consensus between those involved. Only with a common picture can effective measures be planned and implemented.
But first things first: With the trend radar, we dare to take a look into the future. Of course, no one can predict the future, but systematically dealing with the future can increase decision-making certainty.
Take, for example, the impact of machine learning on your business. Trend radar tools can help you identify macro trends such as machine learning and their opportunities and risks early on. What do you have of it? If you recognize the trend early, you can act proactively and plan measures. For example, you can estimate the impact of ChatGPT before the technology becomes widespread, used by many providers (perhaps including your competitors) and transforms entire markets.
The list of examples is endless. Consider, for example, the challenges faced by smartphone manufacturers and app developers under the influence of augmented and virtual reality. Or the influence of new working models and forms on HR teams . Or the innovations that smart homes and smart buildings are triggering in the construction industry. You see where this is going.
In the INNO-VERSE trend radar, the different evaluations of the participants can be easily compared with each other.
Who should use trend radars?
Trend radars are not just tools for strategy or innovation departments (see also our blog post on networked innovation work ). In principle, every company and every team that specifically deals with the future and plans its actions can work with trend radars.
The idea can be explained using the example of marketing teams: Marketing teams should also plan ahead strategically in order to make effective decisions. For example, which target groups and markets should be served with which channels and instruments. It is important to understand which trends are affecting your own markets and how these affect customer behavior.
Trends such as plant-based nutrition, self-monitoring and tracking, performance culture and new working models have a massive impact on many industries and markets. For example, if the marketing team of a food manufacturer does not recognize the importance of new nutritional trends (such as plant-based diets) in a timely manner, it risks losing its customers with its existing offering (such as animal products).
If, on the other hand, the marketing team anticipates trends with the help of a trend radar, it can take countermeasures at an early stage and adapt its own offering accordingly.
Advantages of trend radar software over manual analysis
If you decide to work with trend radar software, you will benefit from many advantages over classic, manual research and analysis.
Labor and time savings: Trendradar software simplifies and automates many processes that would otherwise have to be carried out manually and in a time-consuming manner. The software really shows its advantages in large trend radar projects with 50 or more participants.
Customized visualization: Trend radar tools are specifically designed for the purpose of trend assessment. They therefore offer customized visualizations and statistics that present the results at a glance and make evaluation easier.
Fewer tools: The trend radar combines many tools in one, thus reducing complexity and effort - both for the participants and for the project managers. Instead of questionnaires, PowerPoint, Statista and more, all you need is a login.
No reports for the filing cabinet: The result of a good trend radar tool summarizes the most important results and derives recommendations for action from them. This saves the effort for extensive reports and presentations, which unfortunately all too often end up gathering dust in the filing cabinet after a project is completed.
Results for further work: Digital trend radars are usually embedded in innovation software , which makes it possible to continue working with the results. For example, an innovation database or an ideation tool can be used for further solution development.
The advantage of good trend radar software: At a glance you get an overview of the biggest opportunities and risks from the trend radar assessment.
What functions should a good trend radar software include?
Although this type of software tool is still new, there are already a few providers on the market. You can find out here which functions make your life easier and what you should pay attention to.
Ease of use: Trendradar software should be as easy to use as possible. On the one hand for the project manager, but on the other hand especially for the participants who are supposed to carry out the trend assessment without much prior knowledge. Ultimately, the participants should deal with relevant future trends and not with software training.
Inclusion of internal and external people: Trend analysis depends on the different perspectives of internal and external people. Therefore, integration should be as simple as possible, even with a large number of participants.
Predefined trendset: A good trend radar software offers you a well-founded selection of predefined mega and macro trends for evaluation. This saves you and your team a lot of effort when researching trends and allows you to get started quickly with the evaluation. Of course, the trend radar should still offer enough flexibility to reflect your individual trend logic.
Evaluation and segmentation: In the evaluation, a digital trend radar should offer suitable visualizations in order to identify the most important opportunities and risks at a glance. The results should be segmentable in order to make differences in the assessments of different groups of participants visible.
Flexibility: Last but not least, such software naturally also needs a certain degree of flexibility in order to be able to reflect your individual requirements. Evaluation options, evaluation criteria or trend selection are just a few points that you will definitely want to adapt to your project.
Conclusion
When used correctly , trend radars bring your team many advantages , above all, of course, decision-making reliability and a better understanding of the future.
Using trend radar software can make your life easier and speed up many processes - provided you choose the right tool. In line with this, we would like to recommend the INNO-VERSE trend radar, which is perfect for large or small trend analyzes in any team or company. Take a look – you can test the radar for FREE at any time:
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