Do you use a trend forecasting firm to support your business development goals?

Trend forecasting is a strategy that all companies take very seriously. Unfortunately it's easy to get overwhelmed by all the different trends in a given industry - especially if you're a smaller company. Some companies opt to hire a specialized firm to help them sift through the information and set appropriate goals. Do you use a trend forecasting firm to support your business development? If not, would you ever consider using one of these types of organizations? To survive, everyone must understand trends within their own industry, but is it worth it to enlist the services of a forecasting firm to 'get started'??