Get a clue

So last evening I was having one of those moments. I was reading an article in the Atlantic about the whole health care fiasco. An interesting article that altered my perception of the debate now going on around the country. My mother-in-law suggested that we read the article so based on that recommendation I did (there's a point here). As I was flipping through the magazine an ad caught my eye. It was about the re-issue of The Cluetrain Manifesto, a book originally published in 2000 that dealt with the rise of the internet and how it would eventually impact that whole military industrial monolithic business model. Wow, I thought, I wonder if I still have my copy.

Sure enough it only took rummaging through four bookcases to find it. I was curious, would it still hold up all these years later? It should does. It was kind of spooky looking through it quickly, alluding to 'tipping points' and a network of people connect by the web sharing stories about their experiences. To summarize the concept was that business needs to start a dialogue, rather than the usual push marketing monologue that has gone on for years. There needed to be a respect for consumers and that savvy business would welcome the opportunity to listen to their customers. After all, their customers were talking to each other - and about them - and that was something that should be of interest to any business owner.

Wow, I thought - Facebook. All you need to know was point 18 in the Cluetrain top 95 theses presented in the book. You'll have to look for yourself. I continued to poke through the book throughout the evening. It brought me back to my retail days. I liked the fact that I knew my customers, both as people, and as customers. It was a very direct connection, albeit it at times through staff. But it was the type of relationship that I would imagine would lead someone to 'become a fan' of a business facebook page. However, over the years business owners tend to distance themselves from the day to day. The question then is would casual customers become 'fans', or even have the motivation to learn more. I don't think so. You see 'social networking' works when there is a relationship and when there is something meaningful to say. You can fake sincerity. It also takes a real commitment to the process. The problem is for many garden center owners the whole notion of networking is coming too late for most. They are generally 20 to 30 years into the business, a bit burned out, and barely hanging on. The thought of watching their facebook page is as foreign as the dark side of the moon. It is a real shame, because that personal connection is what made the business so great (I hope) in the first place.