Looking ahead at the specific industry of which your service business or professional practice is a part is also important.  To determine which trends are significant to you, explore the marketing elements of your industry.  These include the following: general changes in your industry, changes in services in your field, pricing changes, changes in the way your service is distributed or delivered to your clients, possible changes in promotion, changes in the clients themselves.

-Jean Withers and Carol Vipperman, Marketing Your Service

Last week, we looked at the suggestions Withers and Vipperman had for us in terms of brainstorming future changes that might impact your business.  Here, they suggest we focus in more specifically on our individual industry to ask us to consider what trends are most applicable to us.  Just as with last week, try making a table to address each of these suggestions above.

Also, while all of their questions are important, "changes in the way your service is distributed or delivered to your clients," is especially salient right now.  As our lives are becoming increasingly more technical and communication more instantaneous, how are the ways you deliver your service changing?  Even if you are currently upgrading and updating, do they need to change more drastically if you are to get ahead, and stay ahead, of your competition?