Build Successful Ideas From Trends

Want to create an idea you won’t have to try so hard to sell?
Innovate new products and services from statistics.

All Idea Guys and Gals are guilty of creating those ideas we’re simply ‘in love with’. We don’t have a solid reason for personally believing the idea is great — it’s just a gut reaction. As such, it’s much harder to sell others on the concept. Business minds and investors need facts and figures to buy into an idea, and a lot of the time the concept is so ahead of the curve that it’s difficult to find any stats to back it up.

Save time convincing others of the idea’s benefit by starting with a stat, and innovate from that. You can find stats and numbers everywhere. The newspapers and magazines are full of statistical and trend data — it’s all in how you read it, and what you DO with the information.

Here’s a stat for you:

“Four out of 10 active travelers are grandparents going with their grandchildren or extended family on vacation,” said Peter Yesawich, author of Leisure Travel Monitor, which tracks travel habits, preferences and intentions of Americans.
May 6, 2005 – OrlandoToday.com

Do you simply read right past something like that, or does it scream “opportunity for innovation”? Knowing the Boomer generation is aging everyday, you can safely expect that stat to increase. What are you going to do with that knowledge?

A couple quick possibilities:

Service Idea…
Many restaurants offer a “kids eat free special” — but what about the grandparents? Could resort restaurants capture more diners by rolling out this service?

What if amusement parks offered an area where the grandparents could ride the attractions WITH their grandchildren, rather that kids-only rides?

How about a “Great-Grandparents Great Escape” — a senior-friendly area where the grandparents can getaway from their large travel group and spoil themselves silly for a couple hours? Excellent way to increase sales in spas or resorts.

Product Idea…
Travel versions of classic games that Grandma and Grandpa fondly remember, but will also occupy the kids during the trip. How about boardgames that hang vertically from the backs of car seats? Soft fabric playing pieces stay in place with Velcro, and the whole things rolls up for easy storage under the seat. (Hey, that’s not bad!)

Any of the above ideas are viable innovations based on that single statistic — and the article is FULL of them.

Travel not your thing?
Check trade magazines from an area in which you ARE interested. Every issue covers topics important to their specific industry — and don’t forget the hundreds of general magazines on every topic imaginable available at your nearest newstand.

Pick a page, choose a stat, and start brainstorming!