his entry is part 9 of 9 in the series
Social Media Directions
Think
about how markets have operated in the past. Markets have assumed that
buyers can be “pulled” into a transaction without consideration of the
buyers convenience. What are buyer conveniences?
When we buy stuff the experience can be good or bad. The difference is a reflection of how brands and merchants view the value of the buyers. The value of a buyer is what creates currency for markets, all of them. What would a market be without buyers, nothing.
History has shown that successful companies start with the buyers
preferences in mind first then build a “system” to exceed those
preferences. By exceeding preferences, expectations and experiences
organizations can win the hearts, minds and wallets of buyers.
- The experience of finding what we want
- The experience of buying what we want
- The testimony of others who experienced the process
- The time it takes to do 1 & 2
- The references to the value of a product or service we want
- The price for value equation
- The experience of using the product or service
Sounds simply and yet many markets simply do not consider the buyer
first rather they act as though they are more important than the
buyer. This thinking has become transparent in today’s digital
economy. Why? Because buyers now have a voice given the reach and
richness of social technology and their experiences are shared
everywhere.
What Does This Mean?
Unless the marketplace thinks “systemically” about
how to better serve the buyer then the old marketplace will loose to a
new marketplace. The new marketplace will be collaboratively built by
merchants who see more value in collectively building a “digital system” of convenience which buyers can interact more conveniently with the marketplace.
Markets need to aim at serving buyers. Buyers serve markets via
consumption. Consumption is relevant to need, convenience, price and
experience. Given the technological revolution it seems obvious that a
new marketplace will indeed emerge soon than later. The new marketplace
will not be designed by the “silo mentality of old markets” rather it will be created by those who understand the value of an “open marketplace“.
In case you didn’t know the marketplace is already open to
conversations which reflect what the market wants and needs and the
voice of experience reflects who is serving who.
Are you listening?