Banks abuse Offliners….Online Savers earn 37% more than doing it offline...

One more example of the nation's 4Million unconnected population losing out when they can least afford it, as BBC News revealed a new Which? report today.

Fight back with our new #ElderJelly Programme - who do you know that's not online yet? Whilst this is often the older generation, digital exclusion can be the result of poor rural broadband availability or simply lack of resource.

Hojomo Group's "CotswoldJelly" coworking meet-ups in Gloucestershire have greeted this challenge head-on by building on the message from last week's "iTea & Biscuits" Week run by Age UK and starting "own pace" ICT support at a local Community Cafe every Wednesday.

The forerunner of a soon-to-be-announced Digital Mentoring programme for the county, ElderJelly aims to provide local one-to-one assistance to help anyone who has not yet had the opportunity to get online, and benefit from the savings that often result.

Based in Stroud - a Transition Town - in the Cotswolds, Hojomo is seeking to extend the concept, first throughout rural Gloucestershire & then across the South West

"We don't think asking the banks to put terminals in their branches is a viable solution - that still requires access to transport & understanding of computers in the first place, both of these represent a major challenge for any of the 4Million who live in rural areas" said Howard Moorey, founder of Hojomo Group.

"We are working towards reducing rural isolation and social exclusion by providing localised access for anyone who wants to learn about computers and how they can save you money."

Hojomo Group's interest in internet marketing led to identifying the plight of small businesses in rural communities where growth & expansion are often hampered by poor broadband provision. This in itself means families & individuals who are not yet connected have been unable to make that leap in acquiring the basic skills that are so essential to finding work in today's strained economic environment.

GEOSOCIAL – THE WAY, THE FUTURE...

...why?

“Because online geosocial networking sites target locally familiar content, participation tends inherently to encourage face to face interaction of users in or around local places.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosocial_networking )

The fusing of Social Media and Location-based information is destined to become one of the most significant developments in commercial communications technology of the 21^st Century.

Early adopters in North America have developed applications such as Foursquare, Brightkite & Gowalla to revolve around the need, on a personal level, to keep in passive touch with friends whilst keeping open the option of an impromptu meet up. Each of these has a certain fun element built in – becoming a “Mayor”, collecting badges, posting geotagged photos.

GPS has been widely available for many years & has more recently migrated to mobile phones. The social swell is already beginning, with the likes of Facebook, Google & Twitter beginning to optimise their services for location & geo-tagging.

All these & more offer considerable commercial marketing opportunities in the immediate future. The only barrier at this moment is low take-up, which, as awareness grows, is destined to turn into a new tide, and a wave not to be missed.

Transport, Communications, Tools & People

SUN20JUN10…..

…..DAY DAWNS & THE LIGHT GOES ON!!!!!…..

…..quite appropriate for the Summer Solstice + Fathers Day really (and it's my parents' wedding anniversary too, goddess bless them both)!…..

…..because I've just L1RND the source of my deep seated frustration, and possibly what has made me so angry inside, for so many years…..

I realised a few years ago that my "career path" had been forged from my parents guidance of "get a good steady job & progress through that", much as my father had done.

It turns out that my true passion has always been for Transport & Communications…..but in a variety of guises, right up to the present day.

Engine oil has always been in my blood - my father was an motor mechanic & AA man, I loved motor racing & rallying from a young age, and joined Ford 5 years after leaving school.

Motors, of varying sizes, have been an essential part of my life ever since - cars changing to trucks in 1987. Always involving "Business Development", and talking to people.

"square peg & round hole"

Day has now dawned because I've found that what I thought was a passion for motors - things on wheels - cars, trains, trucks - was actually a passion for what they could do - help you travel (I have always loved to travel, I still love maps, albeit more Google Earth nowadays, and reading the exploits of others discovering far away places).

Those wheels are really just tools to get you from A2B, 2C,2D, etc, to meet people, to converse & communicate, to MEET, LIKE, KNOW, TRUST, people!

My final frustration, for the last few years (with all due apologies to those around me who have caught the brunt of this in any way), has arisen from a fascination with all things "Social Media", from before it was even called that, leading to forcing (fooling?) myself into thinking I had to learn, live & breath the technicalities of how it all works, when, in fact, I DON'T need to know & master that, because they are only tools. They are just methods & instruments for achieving an end result - the Final Third is what I REALLY want & need to be involved in, NOT the Middle Third!

I don't need to know how the car/truck works in order to get in & drive it. Sometimes it helps you to be sympathetic, more in tune, with your chosen mode of transport, but it's not essential.

What I am best at is interpreting/translating/driving: taking something outwardly complicated (esoteric even) and presenting it in a digestible format, one that people can understand & relate to how it can benefit them, individually & collectively. No, that's NOT the same as salesmanship (another source of deep frustration!)

Throughout my time past I have suffered from being "emotionally inarticulate" - I have been unable to grasp, and hence convey, WHY I have been so frustrated, and angry, with myself.

That, in itself, has meant I haven't been a particularly good father, or, especially, a particularly good husband, because I was angry inside, but didn't know why.

I have vowed never to push my own sons towards a career that I think might be right for them - they must follow their own PassionPath - but Adam is set to master Maths & Physics, and lay down the plans for the first real Warp Drive, so that Zefrem Cochrane & Henry Archer have something to work on!

Back to Social Media …..

I spent far too much time trying to understand how it works - to become something of an "expert" - instead of focussing on the true goal of what it can do for people, to make their lives easier, or their businesses more prosperous.

"Nobody gives a shit about YOU!" (So thank you for reading this far!)

"They only care about what you can do for THEM!"

The same goes for the motor - no-one cares about how it works (apart from the commercial niche that has grown up around selling & servicing it) - they just want it to do it's job: get us (or deliver the goods) from A2B.

Social Media is just another phase of Transport & Communications…..

…..That's part of the "Revolution!"

The week that led up to this "Day of Enlightenment" started when, in a conversation with Rhona Jack, MD of Blue Click PR Ltd, I likened Social Media to being more of a Bicycle than a Car: with the latter, you get into a protected environment, start up, point & go, with most of the "effort" being automated (it's "under the hood"), passing, & ignoring, many good things on the way!

With a Bicycle, you have to Pedal & Steer, YOU have to make the EFFORT - it gets you where you're going, yes, somewhat slower, but the Journey is so much more rewarding because you see/learn more on the way - you can smile, wave, say hello, stop & chat, grow closer, RELATE & ENGAGE, far more than ever you would in a Motor.

Perhaps that means that AUTOMATION is actually the curse of our age, when we all were led to believe it was the saviour/blessing!

Don't get me wrong, we need to have Motors/Automation - our world in it's present form could not exist/develop/grow without - BUT, if we lose sight/sound/smell of the countryside on the Journey, we are LOST!

Use of Social Media, as a method of people communicating with people, is it's biggest value (RoI?) and it CANNOT be automated!!

Please help someone you know to get on social media with the minimum of fuss & effort - let's make it a much smaller world!

Thanks for reading the Sunday ramble - how are YOU feeling about your past & your future? Decisions made?

Happy Solstice 2010 to one & all!

Updates, Profiles & Jelly!

Keeping your presence up to date and fresh is an important part of being out here in the great digital universe.

As surfers, we are spending less time on a website than ever we did before, so it needs to be clean & crisp and it must provide the information a visitor is seeking in a very easy to find, easy on the eye, fashion.

I have spent a great deal of time on various social media platforms, and the websites they lead to, over the last six months, and have found that too many are just not updated enough, or don't contain sufficient details to determine who runs the business I am looking at through the "window" they have offered me. That is deeply frustrating.

My own website has remained a holding page for far too long, whilst I awaited delivery of my new space-ship - it is a "Profile Hub" - with links to all the important places where I hope to engage with you, and meet new friends in the months & years to come. My friends at ProfileBuilder have really done the business!

Find it here: hojomo group

Please connect with me & let me know what you think, and find out more about Jelly and the Cafe on my recent guest blog here:-

Local Cafe

I look forward to meeting you!

H

May 2nd, 2010

Bio
Howard Moorey advises businesses, organisations, and individuals on how to use social media and social networks to build relationships and deliver value.

You can reach him at: howard at hojomo.com
or catch up on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
as @hojomo @4Pubs @cotswoldjelly & @debtDrGlos

Home is where the heart is: Gloucester & the Cotswold Hills, UK

TIME TO RENAME THE SALES DEPARTMENT?

I had a telephone call yesterday, at 5.25pm, to my home, showing as "Unavailable" on the screen.

It was from what I'll call a "major financial institution" trying to sell me something. You always know that's what they're doing because the call is from someone you don't know, who introduces themself & instantly tries to be very pally!

You wouldn't put up with this approach if someone tried it in the pub, so why should you accept it when they have intruded into your private space?

In my case, this response is very clearly the effect of the "social web".

I have always been somewhat reticent about being "sold to", but today, as we approach the 2 year mark since Lehman, and I have been on Twitter & Facebook for just over that 2 year point, I'm quite sure I'm not alone in having moved very clearly to being a "Buyer".

This fits the profile of anyone sitting in "time poverty" - I will buy something, on my terms, but only after I have researched the product/service, and it's pricing, and it's supplier, on the net.

By taking that "savvy" approach, I feel I know what I'm getting into - I have been able to research my objective, and find what I'm looking for, through recommendation and reviews.

I am confident that I am getting value, because I have been able to make comparisons, and I have chosen a supplier for my goods or service, again through recommendation or reviews, but not before they have passed my own "tick box test".

I need to have found them on the net, established name, address and contact details, and maybe even found a little about their history, background and experience (if this is the start of a longer term association, and not just a one-off purchase).

This pre-vetting may well include the appearance & content value of their web presence - site & social media touch points - do I like what they say, have I been able to interact with them?

That is the "Meet Like Know Trust" concept in action. It works in networking circles, and it can apply equally in commercial and financial circumstances too. It is also several world's away from the Doorstep Salesman approach attempted through that phone call.

How can I feel the slightest bit comfortable buying anything from anybody who hasn't at least tried to get to know me first, before trying to "pitch" at me?

How much longer will it be before the major corporates, banks, & institutions learn that their Sales Department should now be called their Buys Department?

Engage first. The world is going social. Get used to it. Move with the times!

What do you think?

Howard J Moorey

April 14th, 2010



Bio

Howard Moorey advises businesses, organisations, and individuals on how to use social media and social networks to build relationships and deliver value. 


You can reach him at: howard at hojomo.com
 or
catch up on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter


Home is where the heart is: Cotswold Hills, UK

http://twitter.com/cotswoldjelly
http://www.facebook.com/hojomo
http://www.linkedin.com/in/HowardJMoorey
http://twitter.com/hojomo
http://twitter.com/4Pubs
http://twitter.com/debtDrGlos

iPhone 3G + o2 Internet Tethering

I don't usually get a chance to talk about anything techie, but I hope this may help some of you, if you're having the same challenges as I had with getting tethering to work.

The bit they don't tell you is as follows:-

After you have purchased the Tethering Bolt On, and it's live on your account,
you need to reset your phone like this:-

Settings> General> Reset> Reset Network Settings> (Red Button) "Reset Network Settings"

When you do that, the phone reboots itself, taking a few minutes to get back to your Home screen.

If you then try:-

Settings> General> Network

"Internet Tethering" should now appear!

WARNING: WHEN YOU ARE NOT ACTUALLY USING IT, MAKE CERTAIN YOU TURN TETHERING OFF!!

o2 tell me it takes precedence over any wifi connection you may have available, so you may think you're on wifi, but you'll be using tethering!

Apple site explains here:-
http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/tethering.html

and here:-
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3574

iPhone Internet Tethering Bolt On required?
Go here on o2 site:-
http://shop.o2.co.uk/update/internet.html

Hope this helps your iPhone Mobile Internet Experience.

Happy Hunting!!

Howard J Moorey
March 20th, 2010

Bio
Howard Moorey advises businesses, organisations, and individuals on how to use social media and social networks to build relationships and deliver value.

You can reach him at: howard at hojomo.com
or catch up on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
as @hojomo @4Pubs & @debtDrGlos
Home is where the heart is: Cotswold Hills, UK

Customer Relationship Management or Guest Experience? Whitbread #Fail

My friend Chris has led me to change my mindset from "Customer Relationship Management" to "Guest Experience", and yesterday I had the chance to savour the difference first hand.

It was a very common scenario, replayed many times a day around the globe - I had arranged to meet with a couple of my co-collaborators from a particular project for a sociable face-to-face instead of the usual Skype or Wave conversations - we all agree we still get something out of the physical meet up - that's good, that's human!

So date & area (Worcester -ish) organised, one of my colleagues picks the venue using Whitbread's Premier Inn website, where a very user-friendly tool allows you to "Email to a friend". He did that, and two of us went to one place (the one he sent details about), and he managed to go to another, and then insist that we go there!

This allowed me to "experience" two different Premier Inn sites within two hours and led me into sharing this comparison. At this point I stress that in no way am I connected with Whitbread, Premier Inn, Beefeater or any of their myriad brand names in the hospitality sector, other than, having been a road warrior for many years now, I have used them extensively across the UK, but purely as a "guest", and I don't even have a loyalty card!

On with the plot - first venue I found OK, simply through address and post code from the email - sat nav did a great job! Not far off the M5 Junction 5 - Bromsgrove South, The Swan Inn. Right beside the main road, good access, free parking.

We tend to search based on the "Premier Inn" brand, although these type of meetings usually take place in the adjacent restaurant, whatever brand that happens to be, pitched at 9.30-10.30 start, after the breakfast rush with time enough before lunch. In this scenario, we are likely to be perfect incremental, "targets" for Whitbread, since discretionary spend (cash or plastic) would inevitably mean coffee/drinks, plus distinct possibility of lunch too, often when the venue is not otherwise particularly busy.

One prime requirement - we need easily accessible power & free wifi!!

Back to The Swan - nice inside, offering just what we need, plus good looking "Chef's Specials" board & a range of real ales too. Pleasant welcome from the young lady setting up tables, together with "help yourself to coffee, I'll run you a tab". Wifi clearly available, with access code written on chalk board on the bar - fair enough.

First hiccup - access screen worked OK on the Mac laptop (except that it needed an email address too - Grrrrrrrr! Woe betide you if I get spam from you as a result!), BUT first #Fail: it didn't work so easily on the iPhone. So much so that I gave up! Gaining access from the laptop was definitely an "experience" because Firefox & Safari browsers both questioned the security certificate used by the"Public" wifi connection, to the extent that they both protected me & kept me out! Email access was less strenuous, so at least I had that.

Now, bearing in mind that this meeting was about various social media strategies, and therefore we would need web access to review our files & sites, this immediately limited the likelihood of progress. So much so that when I made the "where are you" call & was told "we're here, come join us", I was only mildly miffed about having to give up the Cottage Pie & Pint of Worcester Sorcerer, that I had mentally bookmarked for later!

On to venue number 2, one junction down - the Three Pears at Warndon. Totally different experience!! Firstly, Pay and Display Car Park, with the promise of a refund if you buy drinks or food inside! I understand the reason for this - the number of cars parked on the pavement of the access road showed that it's an area well used as a drop off point for meeting up and carrying on up or down the motorway. But, for me, a true "guest" for the morning, the system #Failed again - more of that later.

Didn't have change so had to go in to the venue; accosted the Manager, who simply said "it's not run by us, some third party handles all that".

Met up with said collaborators, who had already noted a lack of accessible wifi. Enquiry received the reply that "no we don't offer it, but the (separate) Premier Inn opposite do." Over to them, but, as I expected, gained the response "yes we have wifi, but only for "guests", and only in the bedrooms"

#Fail - we were intending to be "guests" of Whitbread, on this Whitbread site, but both sides (Premier Inn and Beefeater) were able to claim notional independence of the other and thus avoid responsibility, or, more importantly, any interest in the needs of the "guests".

Back to the Three Pears (despite our ordeal so far, time was dragging on) to sit & order coffees to start. Great meeting, but the "experience" thus far lost them the three potential lunches/drinks AND any chance of EVER getting a word of mouth (Twitter, et al) recommendation, OR a return visit! We just ordered another coffee. In due course "organiser" paid the drinks bill (thanks Paul!) and left for his next meeting, allowing Anna & I to carry on talking yet more strategies!

Then came the final #Fail, to add insult to injury, drinks bill had already been paid so they declined to provide us with a refund of the parking charges! If we had each individually paid for our own drinks, three separate bills, we could have had a refund, but Paul's generosity meant that did not happen.

Result: Total Fail on the part of Whitbread Premier Inn Beefeater, we will NEVER use that location again, or recommend anyone else use it either. Was it worth it for them? Do they care?

"Customer Relationship Management" is nowadays too grand, and overbearing, a title for what should have occurred here.

"Guest Experience" actually sums it up perfectly - Whitbread (and competitors) please live & learn! Follow @chrisbrogan to learn more!

Please, please don't make these mistakes with YOUR customers.

Howard J Moorey
March 5th, 2010

Bio
Howard Moorey advises businesses, organisations, and individuals on how to use social media and social networks to build relationships and deliver value.

You can reach him at: howard at hojomo.com
or catch up on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
as @hojomo @4Pubs & @debtDrGlos

Home is where the heart is: Cotswold Hills, UK

http://twitter.com/cotswoldjelly

THE DODO IS NOT DEAD!

This is the start of the Chinese New Year of the Metal Tiger, so let’s get at it – Fast, Strong & Resolute!

In pursuit of “Keep It Simple & Specific”, I like to use the following in navigating through a challenge towards a goal, it may help you too:-

Firstly, use the Chris Brogan model, where “Customer Service” has become “Guest Experience”!

DETERMINE OBJECTIVE
· More Regulars
· More Visitors
· More Warmth
· More Business!

DO WHAT IT TAKES TO ACHIEVE…..
· Connect & converse
· Be where your guests (existing AND future) are
· The magic is in the mix – DON’T put all your efforts in one direction only
· Get feedback, anywhere, anyway you can
· Chat! All sorts of things come to light!!

…..DESIRED OUTCOME
· Closer connections, both with AND between customers/clients is VERY social!
· Understanding the “guest experience” better helps you deliver better
· Be open to new ideas, especially if they arrive out of feedback
· Involve guests in new developments
· Become the hub of your community, physical or virtual

You may need to realign thoughts a little, but could that work for you?


Howard J Moorey

February 14th, 2010



Bio

Howard Moorey advises businesses, organisations, and individuals on how to use social media and social networks to build relationships and deliver value.


You can reach him at: howard at hojomo.com

or catch up on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter 
as @hojomo
@4Pubs & @debtDrGlos

SO WHAT HAS GOOGLE LEARNED THIS WEEK?...

Hopefully it's "Tech is great, but you still need to put people first!"

Social & Communications Networks begin & end with people, and so do the tools they rely on.

Rule#1: Whatever it is, you MUST make it User/Customer friendly! That includes the support.

If you launch a new service you must have a back-up plan, and people in place to support that service. Similarly, if you launch some new hardware, even if it looks, feels and works great, you still need PEOPLE to TALK to PEOPLE to sort out their difficulties.

With new systems & hardware, especially with both depending on working together, like a phone that only works with networks, and software, provided by a variety of 3rd parties, you are going to have difficulties.

Sorting those challenges must happen in what's now known as "real time" - people on Twitter, people on the phone, available to help NOW, not via email with a 3 day delay!

I have experienced this myself with my own network supplier, O2, here in the UK, just in the last few days, as my contract comes to an end. Reviewing the options is not easily done by email. Like most now, I like to do the research online, but I still want to buy local, or personal, if I want to sort something with the minimum of delay.

I love Google, even though Wave has let me down a bit thus far, and Chrome for Mac took a long time to arrive, and then needed an op system upgrade before you can use it!

It strikes me that the Big G has been catering a little too much towards techies in these launches, and not with real users, who need forethought, like "how are they going to use it" and "how are we going to support it". The debacle with Nexus One therefore seems just like a repeat of recent history.

I am one of the "potential buyers" they should be aiming at - I love my iPhone, but it's contract is about to end, so I'm open to options. I love HTC, and own a good many of their handsets, because they always seem to deliver on "Looks, Feels, and Needs", so I'd be very open to a handset sourced from them. And, having had the iPhone experience, I am very reluctant to return to Windows Mobile. Perfect combination, no?

Don't get me wrong - the iPhone is the best thing, ever, in my book, but that doesn't mean it can't be bested. Hardware reports suggest that Nexus One actually has bested the iPhone, but I am definitely NOT going to step over the barrier to something so new, for use as my primary personal communications tool (with a "get me anywhere, anytime" tag), when I see many reports of poor/non-existent support from an otherwise respected source.

I've been able to use the mobile phone - one of my own personal passions - as the example here, after reading an article from Glenn Chapman of Inquirer.net but how can YOU see this applying in YOUR business, where you are competing with many others, both online & offline?

Are you putting the User/Customer first? They can certainly tell the difference when you do!

PROVIDING they can find you, but that's for another blog.

What do you think?

Howard J Moorey

January 16th, 2010

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

http://L1RND.com

Social Media is SO last year!

Social Media has matured alot over the last 6 months, not least in the degree of measurability inherent in your online "presence"

With that measurability comes a level of credibility - you achieve that by ticking certain boxes, like filling in your social networking profiles properly, so people can "check you out" in their own terms.

If someone spends alot of time on Facebook, or it is simply their predominant route to their network of friends & acquaintances, then they will determine your "cred" by whether you post regularly, have a complete profile (some of which will overlap with their own life preferences), and basically show off the real you!

That measurability & credibility leads to Social Decorum, ie. "proper behaviour" online, such as interesting and/or helpful posts, not too much "me, me, me", responsive to approaches, conversational, basically a "participator". Everyone has their own standards that they judge you by - often boxed off and varying depending on the age sector you & they are in (as society goes, "twas ever thus"). If you tick their boxes, you "behave" to their standards, and they are then happy to include you in their world.

Key lesson to learn here is that we are talking about people, that's what “social” is all about!

People run, and work in, businesses, so we are simply talking about people approaching and connecting with one another, in a fashion that has never been available to us before. It's just networking, like we have done since the dawn of time, only today we use new tools - "Digital Media".

That networking is much more comfortable, on a human level, than "sales", "pitching" and "business development" but it still amounts to the same thing, if it is approached with a degree of Social Decorum.

As most of you will by now know, my primary thought leaders are Chris Brogan, Brian Solis, Seth Godin & Jim Connolly, and one thing they all agree on is that business is just "people business". Connect with people properly - don't shout, talk down, or spread viruses - and they will respond properly. If you just try to sell at them in every opportunity you are given, they will simply give you the online equivalent of two fingers (digits?) and unfollow, unfriend, block or whatever else works for them.

Businesses are starting to learn the great advantage being offered to them on a plate through social networking, as evidenced by this superb post by @briansolis.

Just treating people as fellow human beings, and connecting with them properly, affords a level of "customer profiling" that has also never been available to them before. This enables them to serve us better AND develop the goods and services that we WANT (and often will pay for!) and we are happy for them to do that, and happy to offer our opinion to them to assist the process.

That surely is what a connected world should really be about, because, once you achieve Social Decorum, you are already well on the way to building Social Wealth, where everyone on the planet benefits, and gets a little closer together at the same time. FairTrade is but one example of this.

Am I making sense? What do you think?

Howard J Moorey
@hojomo
January 7th, 2010

Bio
Howard Moorey advises businesses, organisations, and individuals on how to use social media and social networks to build relationships and deliver value.
You can reach him at: howard at hojomo.com
or catch up on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
Home is where the heart is: Cotswold Hills, UK

The Blue Moon and the Hammer...

Change of Years, Change of Days, Change of Mindset...

That's what last night's Blue Moon means!

There have been three superb blogs in the last few days of the decade that served to focus my thoughts on B2B and why "large" companies have been struggling to "get it" in regards to digital media

Jim Connolly Jay Baer & Amber Nasland

(My other Master Thought Leaders are Chris Brogan Brian Solis & Seth Godin )


We have just finished a decade which brought us the tools & technology to connect people to people, business to people, and people to business around the planet (and beyond too, but that's for the next decade!)

We have just finished a year which defined the tools to use & the places to be found in order to refine & make best use of those connections.

But what good is a hammer, without a human being to hold it?

A computer can be programmed to both hold the hammer and make a defined set of movements with it, but it takes a person to hold that hammer and make a good job, or craft a work of art, with it.

The most fundamental consideration regarding the hammer is that it will always need human interaction to determine what need can be satisfied by using the hammer to create or craft a result.


In 2010, Communication finally comes of age!

The capacity for a Company to recognise that it must treat people as people - they are fellow human beings, not "Customers", "Users" or "Stakeholders" - will define it's ability to survive and thrive in the new debt-laden future.

That approach will require an element of humility, because no longer can business dictate & produce what it thinks people want - it must now consult, get feedback by asking people what they need, and deliver the solution to the best of it's ability.

To some, this already sounds like the norm - they are "doing it right" and growing year on year as a result of implementing this approach.

For many the time to change is now - take the first faltering steps on the new journey - the 1980's term "Business Process Re-engineering" seems particularly appropriate - lay down plans to talk with the people that buy from you, or that you intend will buy from you, when they are "out of the shop", ie. NOT in buying mode.


"Transaction size is no longer relevant"

How's that for a bold statement?
I say it to bang home the reality that the internet is now a place for all sizes of business to implement PRM - People Relationship Management. It does not matter whether you provide a cup of coffee, a brand new truck, or banking services around the world, people are what it's about, and they have become a lot more savvy in the last 12 months. Internet research has become the norm, even if you intend to buy locally.

The emphasis has shifted from Marketplace to Meeting & Talking Place, definitely NOT Pitching Place!

There's a Connected, Collaborative future out there for all of us.

What do you think? Have you made the move yet? Can you make it this year?

I look forward to meeting you,

Happy New Year!

Howard J Moorey
January 1st, 2010

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