Do You Do Demographics?

Given the not-so-great Great Recession, we're used to looking at and crunching a lot of numbers. We watch housing data and consumer confidence indexes. We keep a close eye on our bottom line and keep our fingers crossed for the top line.

And lately we see some glimmers of hope. Not big rays at this point, but small glimmers peeking through. While some companies are, I'm sure, still locked-down in the "grin and bear it" mode, others are loosening up a bit, looking to the future and making changes to stay competitive.

Getting to my point, I've always been fascinated by predictions and tracking of demographic trends. A nice succinct blog I happened upon this week reminds me that things have fundamentally changed—not just for the short-term, but for the long-term as well. Baby Boomers have lost some of their mobility, and Gen Y's might not care to buy homes at all. These shifts will make a big dent in how we do business in the building products sector.

Do you track demographic trends at your company? Do you watch them with an eye on future market conditions or with new product development in mind—or both? Send me an email and let me know how demographics are impacting (or are likely to impact) your company.

When it comes to demographics, my company: Stays on top of trends, and makes plans to reflect shifts. Is aware of trends, but does not change plans as result. Does not track trends, but sees some having an impact. Does not track such trends because they have limited impact. If poll form doesn't work in your email, Click Here.

Contact Christina Lewellen, senior editor, at clewellen@glass.org.