Analyzing the Macro environment

By learning to spot and analyze trends in the macro-environment, marketers can identify new market opportunities.

A trend is a direction or sequence of events with momentum and durability, revealing the shape of the future. A fad is a craze that is unpredictable, of brief duration, and without long-term significance.
A company can cash in on a fad, but getting it right requires luck and good timing.

Marketing research and demand analyses are, as discussed earlier, necessary to determine the profit potential of new market opportunities based on macro-environmental trends.