<p>Historically, in agrarian societies, commerce was accomplished through word of mouth and referrals. In our ancestral villages, if you needed to buy a pair of shoes, you didn't look in the sale paper or the Yellow Pages (they didn’t exist yet!) -- you asked your friends which shoemaker they purchased from or traded with and trusted their advice. If you were satisfied with the quality of the shoes, you would tell your friends. And because everyone in the community knew each other, personal reputation and trust were paramount.</p>
<p>Only since the printing press have businesses been able to "mass market" their products. Due to factors such as the Industrial Revolution at the turn of the 20th century, the move of American families to the suburbs during the 1950’s, and implementation of automated data technology systems, businesses have become increasingly isolated from their customers.</p>
<p>My father, who is at the leading edge of the Baby Boomer generation, once told me how he and my mother purchased their first home in the early 1970’s. We lived in a small, Midwestern town, and my parents had only lived there for a short while. My father was just beginning his career, and my mother was at home taking care of “baby me.”</p>
<p>My father had little credit or collateral when he and my mother approached a locally-owned bank for their first mortgage. Although I’m sure this is somewhat of an exaggeration on my dad’s part, he claims that, despite their lack of credit or financial history, the bank’s loan officer personally approved their loan on a handshake because my father was an honest, hard-working man who had a stable job with one of the town’s prominent employers. So began my parents’ “American Dream” -- based on a genuine level of <em>trust</em>.</p>
<p>Contrast that to the current debacle in the mortgage industry that has plunged the United States into the deepest recession in over 60 years. Unscrupulous loan officers from large, corporate financial institutions qualified unsuspecting applicants for loans they could not possibly afford, sometimes without even having met the applicants. It is a numbers game gone awry, with the American public ultimately paying the price. We now face the highest foreclosure rates since the Great Depression, a generation of workers that have lost much of their life savings, and a national unemployment rate of over nine percent. While the mortgage and banking crisis is by no means the only culprit in this economic meltdown, it has certainly been a major contributor.</p>
<p>What does this mean for future relationships between businesses and consumers? In my opinion, consumers will emerge from the current recession much more cautious and more demanding of business relationships based on familiarity and trust. In fact, I submit that our society is ready for a basic paradigm shift, back to doing business much like our agrarian ancestors.</p>
<p>However, unlike its face-to-face roots, this new wave of personalized business marketing will contain a technological element: the Social Media. Business will once again focus on networking, referrals, and trust. As a complement to these time-honored marketing systems, businesses will also rely heavily on Social Media to directly communicate with their prospects and customers.</p>
<p>I personally welcome this shift and am excited about what it holds for the future of commerce. Thanks to the Social Media, for the first time, small businesses will be on an even playing field with large corporations. </p>
2009-07-01T06:21:59Z
2009-07-01T06:34:21Z
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a-matter-of-trust-social-media-alternative-marketing-for-the-21st-century
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2009-07-01T06:34:05Z
2009-07-01T06:34:21Z
The Social Media may just be the paradigm shift our society has been waiting for to bring a personal touch back into business relationships.
A Matter of Trust -- Social Media: Alternative Marketing for the 21st Century
1
2009-07-01T06:34:21Z