5 Reasons Why Chasing Trends Is Bad for Business

While it can be tempting to jump onto the latest design trend, it might not always be worth it. The truth about trends is that they’re already over when they’ve just barely begun. They come and go and sometimes even recirculate, like ’80s fashion or wired headphones. 

However, some trends that might be growing in popularity may not be the best fit for your organization. For example, due to the audience discrepancy, a manufacturing facility probably shouldn’t advertise on TikTok. Additionally, you don’t want your brand to come and go. You want it to remain memorable and timeless. 

Here are five reasons why chasing trends is bad for business:

Chasing Trends May Dilute Your Brand

Of course, you want your website to look aesthetically pleasing, but a common mistake many brands make is that they want to feature the latest trendy look. While your website might feature the latest design trend that catches the interest of anybody looking, you might not be delivering the experience that their customers want. When brands try to do what’s popular rather than clearly illustrate their story in a way that resonates with their target audiences, the brand’s message gets diluted. 

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t rebrand your business, or refresh your website In some cases, a rebrand is a great way to reconnect with a changing audience. In other cases, it’s best to refresh your brand more gradually. In either case, you should have a clear brand rollout plan and a good reason for the rebrand. 

Don’t Sacrifice Function for Fashion

Your website needs to work for your audience; that is its primary function. Chasing the latest trendy feature could hamper this or become distracting at the very least. If ease of use is important on your website, don’t sacrifice user experience for complicated design. Chasing fashion over function can risk you alienating your customer base. Stick to the fundamentals where you need to, evolve — don’t overhal — your brand, and know what your customers want at thier core. 

Stay Clear and Aligned With Your Brand

It can be tempting to grab the most eye-catching Canva template or see a competitor’s brand and use those design ideas for your brand. But keep in mind, your brand experience needs to be cohesive and consistent for your customers. While you may like that Canva graphic’s color palette or competitor’s web design feature, you will only dilute your brand if you’re wishy-washy on design. Keep your visual brand assets memorable and easily identifiable from every angle. Stick with the same, consistent logo treatments, color palette, illustrations, photo style, and overall style. Drastically straying from your brand image may cause more harm than good by diluting your brand recognition and actually making you less memorable among your competitors.

Some Web Design Trends Can Hurt Your SEO

Trends might be fun, but that new slideshow feature or autoplay video function could be affecting how your site ranks in the search engines. Changing web pages that are already high-ranking can hurt your organic web traffic, so use caution when making changes. 

Don’t Drive Yourself Crazy Chasing Trends

The problem with trends is that they change quickly. To keep up with every trend and avoid looking outdated, you would have to assign enormous amounts of time to change the trends. Stick to function instead, establish your brand, and listen to what your audience wants. Additionally, you want your brand to stand out, not blend in. While it’s worthwhile to observe what you like or don’t like about specific trends, that doesn’t mean it’s right for your brand. A strong brand voice and a recognizable presence will draw people to your brand. Think about Nike, for example. While they experiment with campaign themes, their trademark checkmark makes them recognizable. Sometimes, simple is better! 

Remember, your brand is your own, which is not to say you shouldn’t ever experiment with design or add new themes. You should! But this is different than changing your brand to be a bit more on-trend. Consider your why and then think about how to approach a brand update if necessary. If it’s not needed, re-channel that creative energy into a campaign, advertising, or potential event. Be a brand leader, not a follower.