wordpress-seo
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action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home3/retailp1/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114By Doug Stephens<\/p>\n
Doc Searls, a contributor to The Cluetrain Manifesto<\/em> and author of The Intention Economy<\/em> once said that choosing between wireless carriers is like choosing whom to place yourself under house arrest with.\u00a0 He\u2019s right. All options are supremely terrible.\u00a0 All we, as consumers can do in these situations is choose the company we feel will be the least<\/em> horrid of the bunch and hope for the best.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Like a lot of people, I\u2019ve been continually and utterly frustrated by my wireless company over the years.\u00a0 The problem is that I hear others complain about their providers just as vehemently \u2013 so I end up wondering why bother making the switch.\u00a0 Coupled with the morally reprehensible fees and other punitive charges these companies invoke for leaving, it truly makes you feel imprisoned.<\/p>\n And there are many, many examples like this in the market.\u00a0 Cable providers, insurance companies, banks, car rental and real estate companies, and airlines are only some of the categories where differentiation between market alternatives is so dismal or non-existent that consumers reach a point of zombie-fied inertia.\u00a0 If competitors are \u00a0just as awful as your current provider, why switch?\u00a0 There\u2019s no payoff.\u00a0 No point.\u00a0 No difference.<\/p>\n This kind of atrophy in a market is dangerous for two reasons.\u00a0 First, brands actually lull themselves into believing that this consumer inertia is loyalty \u2013 that consumers are sticking with them because they actually want to<\/em>, which of course isn’t true.\u00a0 Secondly, this tyranny of mediocrity and sameness leaves markets primed for catastrophic disruption from new entrants, which by the way, wasn\u2019t always the case. In fact, the barriers to entry in many of these markets were once virtually insurmountable. \u00a0Here’s why. For at least a century, large companies have managed to thrive by creating enormous scale and they bought that scale with massive amounts of paid advertising.\u00a0 For those hoping to break into an industry, creating similar scale was nearly impossible, especially if you couldn\u2019t outspend the market players on advertising. \u00a0Not so anymore.<\/p>\n Now, disruption and new competitors can come from anywhere.\u00a0 Much of this a consequence of open access to scalable, and affordable technologies and networks. \u00a0\u00a0Today, the task of connecting large groups of consumers doesn\u2019t require the same time, effort or deep pockets. In fact, when a product or service is tuly remarkable, consumers will self-organize around it – no advertisng required. \u00a0You see, for the first time in history, it’s possible for small companies to earn<\/strong> customers on the same order of scale as large companies are able to buy<\/strong> customers. \u00a0It’s a level playing field. \u00a0All you need to bring is a truly unique and valued product or service.<\/p>\n For instance, mobile peer to peer payment network, Dwolla<\/a><\/strong> started a couple of years ago with a few staff and now moves more than a half a billion in payments and has credit card companies looking over their shoulders. They\u2019re remarkable because rather than charging a percentage of the transaction value, they charge a flat twenty-five cents regardless of the amount changing hands.<\/p>\n\n
“For the first time in history, it’s possible for small companies to earn<\/em> customers on the same order of scale as large companies can buy<\/em> customers.”<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n