TS Merrick

No Tourists Allowed! Locals ONLY…

by TS on 06/02/10 at 12:25 am

Social Networking is for locals who want to connect with everyone that matters to them.
.. duh!

NEWSFLASH! 

If you are a business that is disconnected with social media, you don’t matter to the people above. BTW, they are your CUSTOMERS!!!!

This is the first in a series of articles about the disconnect between business, communities and customers. More importantly, how do we bridge the gap?

Mr. Mario used to own the store down the street. He had soda, candy bars and comics. Later I found our he had cigarettes and beer. I grew up going to that store.  Mr. Mario went to our church. I would see him sitting there looking funny going bald without his hat.
Mr. Mario knew all the dads and moms. When times were tough, he was right there in the trenches with everyone else. When the steel factory was picketing, he would bring coffee and sandwiches to the workers. When someone cousin got pregnant, she got the test at his store. When  you fell down, the band-aids and ointment came from his store.  He was connected to us and we were connected all in a very human way.

Fast forward 25 years. Mr. Mario is dead. His son sold the store and there is a gas station with bright lights and 24 hour bad coffee.  I don’t even know who owns it or what country they live in. That is the disconnect.

If you own a business, are you Mr/Mrs. Mario, or are you the brightly lit gas station that nobody cares about?