You told me what to buy. I bought it and I bought it again. I want to rent, subscribe to, and borrow your goods. If I end up buying your product, I want to use it with others to resell, rent to others, swap or lend. Our world has changed, and along with it, my preferences. From a more socially responsible mindset, economic pressures are sufficient, and technology makes it for me to find other consumers who can supply the things I need, virtually on demand.
I will use AirBnb to find vacation spots, rather than stay at hotels. I will use Uber and Lyft to get around town, rather than hire a traditional taxi. I just put my spare car on RelayRide to rent out to others. I use Taskrabbit to hire folks at the office rather than using traditional staffing models. Most of our software is already on demand. If I do choose to buy a product, I want to make sure it has great resale value so that I can sell it or rent it to make money.
It also means that the relationship I have with other people matters. Now, I rent my car on RelayRide or sell my used electronics on Gazelle. The trusted relationships I have with other customers matters as much, if not more, than my relationship with you.
What happens between us has changed. I need you to change, as I want to rent, borrow, subscribe, co-op, and swap, rather than buy. PS: To learn more, you can read the rest of my thinking on how brands can leverage this movement, called the Collaborative Economy. Image credit used with creative commons, by MyEye.
But to stretch the analogy, I think that brands are like the spouse who grows fat and happy and takes their partner for granted⦠and is too dim and self-satisfied to notice that all the love, lust or whatever attraction originally brought them together is gone⦠along with their spouse.
