“Willingness to change is a strength, even if it means plunging part of the company into total confusion for a while.” Jack Welch

 

As I was watching a classic episode of Frasier on Netflix, first aired in 1995-1996, Frasier was in a video store looking for a specific movie. Long story short, just as he was asking if the movie was in stock, a lady grabbed the movie. Yes, there was only 1 copy, of 1 movie, in 1 video store.

It hit me. Wow, how far we have come. Or have we?

Not that long ago, we had one option if we wanted to watch videos. We had to leave our house, and hope that our selection was in stock.

Today, we have unlimited options and get to enjoy our choice on demand. Within seconds, we can watch our favorite movie or TV show on Netflix, or Hulu, or HBO Go. We can tweet, Facebook or Instagram our choice instantly, thus sharing our experience with our community.

So what the heck does this have to do with small business? Well, a lot.

The connected customer, Generation C, as defined by the awesome Brian Solis, craves shared experiences. They demand connection, with both friends and businesses.

Is your business a VHS or a Netflix?

• Can I book my appointment online from the comfort of my own couch at 10PM?
• Can I @ mention you on Instagram to give you a shout out?
• When I share my experience on YELP are you listening?
• Will you notice when I post a shout out to your Facebook biz page wall?

If the answer is no, your business is a VHS. And I am pretty sure I don’t need to tell you what happened to the VHS.

Change happens. It’s your choice whether to embrace it or ignore it. Blockbuster ignored it. The awesome humans at Netflix embraced it. As always, the choice is yours.

Love + Awesomeness-

Nina