A Powerful New Conversation

My virus protection (market leader) subscription was about to expire recently and I rang them to be told that I would be better off upgrading to a newer version at a premium price ($125 per annum).

Hmmm… maybe I'll ask the technology expert, (my Gen Y son) if he had any ideas - "no worries Dad" he replied. Within minutes he had sourced a supplier whose product was better than my current supplier and best of all it was FREE!

Well I think you will guess how he did this - he logged on to one of his network forums and asked - in minutes he had the solution! So this was what he did for all those hours on the computer. I didn't feel quite so bad about having to book in to use it now.

Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter - and getting smarter faster than most companies.

These markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny and often shocking. Whether explaining or complaining, joking or serious, the human voice is unmistakably genuine. It can't be faked.

Many companies, on the other hand, talk in the soothing, humorless monotone of the mission statement, marketing brochure, and your-call-is-important-to-us busy signal. Same old tone, same old lies. No wonder networked markets have little respect for companies unable or unwilling to speak as they do.

But learning to speak in a human voice is not some trick, nor will companies convince markets they are human with lip service about "listening to customers." They will only sound human when they empower real human beings to speak on their behalf. While many such people already work for companies today, the question is how do we get them to deliver genuine knowledge that today's smart markets will listen to and respect.

Today, employees are getting hyper linked even as markets are. Companies need to listen carefully to both. Mostly, they need to get out of the way so intranet worked employees can converse directly with internetworked markets.

The result will be a new kind of conversation. And it will be the most exciting conversation business has ever engaged in.

This has far reaching implications for companies today especially in the development of marketing plans and for those sales managers and account managers who are responsible for their customers and potential markets.

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