The TaxingTennessee blog has a post about an interesting analysis at the Lunch Over IP blog based on Doc Searls' The Cluetrain Manifesto. (Lots of links, I know, but this whole blog thing is supposed to be a conversation after all).
Searls makes the case that with advances in the Internet, markets have become "conversations." It is a remarkable look into what he believes is the future of how markets behave. Click on through and read about his views. They are an important perspective on what our economy might become.
Past predictions were that the growth in the use of the Internet was leading to an era of depersonalization. Searls believes that the future is just the opposite as we move from the 'static web' to the 'live web.' As our on-line world advances it is leading to an even more personal relationship with customers. He goes so far as to say that advertising as we know it will soon cease to exist.
A good example of how things are changing on-line can be seen in this article from the Wall Street Journal.
Small online retailers are chatting up customers to get them to stick around on a site longer -- and buy something.A case in point: Backcountry.com, a seller of high-end outdoor gear and apparel. The retailer's staff regularly talks live with customers online about the site's offerings, as well as provides buying tips and addresses any service issue.
"It's an interaction opportunity," says Sam Bruni, director of customer experience at the Park City, Utah-based company.
The world is in a time of dramatic economic transformation. Every business owner must keep his or her entrepreneurial skills tightly honed. Small business may well be the ultimate winner from this transformation as markets shift from being mass markets to relationships with customers directly in charge of what they want.
Small business is best equipped to engage in this type of relationship. Entrepreneurs are best equipped to continually react and adjust to what will likely become a wild ride, indeed!
I believe that SMBs will show themselves to be the global winners in this dramatic economic transformation.
It's exciting how the economics of our world are changing, and I'm revamping my business to comply now. I will be serving the baby boomers, educating the entrepreneurs and consulting with the "global" small businesses.
Good reading.
Thanks, Jason M. Blumer