It’s easy to market a business via the old-style method of having a message, then telling it to the world. The process many companies go through is to look at their “point of difference” and then get some clever advertising type to craft the message. The message is then broadcast through TV, radio or print media. But this style of marketing misses entirely the “conversation economy” that has probably always been with us, and is made all the more obvious on the Internet. Businesses such as MySpace, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter all get it. What they have done so well is ask how they can facilitate connection, conversation, and relationships and then set about building a platform to enable that to happen. In the vast majority of cases, businesses could look at these examples and ask how they can design a conversation around their products – and then set about building a website that does just that. It’s a big, bold step forward from web sites that are just a corporate brochure – but it’s a step worth making.
How do you see the conversation economy shaping your business or industry? What could you do with your website that would enable a conversation between you and your customers, and amongst your customers?
I love these ideas of markets as conversations. I’ve followed them initially as part of reading the Cluetrain Manifesto and other of Doc Searl’s works.
http://www.cluetrain.com/
A good place to begin on that site is to scroll down tot eh 95 theses. I’d recommend reading this book as well — the chapter “Markets are Conversatsions” will change your thinking.
Thanks Kevin. Yes, Cluetrain is one of those must-read books I haven’t read yet. Must do that soon!