There’s always something to howl about.

Seth unchained: Getting permission to put yourself beyond competition

Another way of understanding the unchained idea is to envision a world (I call it yesterday) where marketers avidly sought ways to tie down consumers — with tricks, with lies, with a lack of alternatives. Consumers have broken those chains. That world is gone.

Here is Seth Godin talking about what will replace it:

The defectors know something you don’t. The defectors know that if they hurry, they can build a new monopoly, a monopoly you don’t control. They know that they can build a direct and long-term relationship with the end user, one that will survive competitive incursions and will last a long time. If they hurry.

And so, learn from these folks. You should hurry. You must hurry. If you understand that the game is radically and permanently being changed, you can go out today and start building mutually beneficial relationships with your listeners/readers/watchers. You can offer these folks something of value in exchange for their attention. You can then build a new monopoly.

More:

You have a relationship. You understand that every interaction has to benefit BOTH of you or the relationship is over. If you’re going to build a monopoly on consumer attention, you’ll need to do the same thing.

Here’s how I boil it down to as few words as possible:

  • 1. Make it easy for your happy users to tell as many of their friends as possible.
  • 2. Give away free samples early and often.
  • 3. Get permission from anyone who likes what you do to follow up with anticipated, personal and relevant messages that benefit both of you.
  • 4. If this requires changing what you make and what you charge for, fine.
  • 5. If steps 1,2, 3 and 4 mess up your current business model, fine.

The article is about the mainstream media monopolies, but it’s directly apposite to the real estate industry. Read the whole thing.

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