Hello there, I'm Matt Chadwick at the Untappedwealth.com business desk.
Last week we learned that for the first time in 20 years sales were down on an annual basis for the soft drink industry.  It appears that Coca-Cola was at the wrong end of the stick as their sales dropped more than those of their competitors but Pepsi also suffered from the drop.
Experts are attributing this to the rise in consumption of such drinks as fruit juices and health and sports drinks but Pepsi to buffer its lost because of the rise in some of their health and sports drinks.
This should be a good indicator for us to use as we seek to keep up with the changing demands within the soft drink, food, and health industries and there is much for small businesses to learn as they too struggle to cope with changing demands.  The lesson here is for us all to listen to the pulse of our markets.  Listen to what our consumers are demanding and don't try to force our expectations or opinions on our consumers.  It almost never works.  Here's a hint for you:  If you want to stay ahead of your competitors then make sure that you stay in tune with the demands and tastes of your consumers.
If you'd like to learn how to read your markets more effectively and efficiently then you can do so by picking up "Untapped Wealth Discovered" written by Jeff N Marquis and Kerry J Harrison.  This book can help you to find real consumer demand in real markets and it is very affordable.  You have absolutely nothing to lose by reading it and everything to gain.
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