All businesses want to know the secret of making money. Some think they already know; some think they can hire someone who already knows and some think knowing and doing are the same. It’s no different when it comes to e-business. Traditional businesses or those on the internet or those who have both a foot on terra firma and a hand in the ether that is known as the World Wide Web, have always sought better and in some cases more complicated methods for raising their profits. To that end a cottage industry of consultants and business advisors has developed to assist these businesses in doing just that, making money. Of course, each and every one of these consultants is convinced that their method is the one true way to profitability and they charge accordingly. And why not, it seems that everyone agrees that there is money to be made on the web, lots of money. The web is a new tool for business and only these so-called experts can help a business survive and endure by using this new tool.
At first it would appear that the book “The Cluetrain Manifesto” and its accompanying website is just like all the other ‘consultants’ out there and is only trying to make a quick buck. Of course, there is no charge to get to their advice on the web site and the book can be downloaded for free. Right away its clear that this book and website might offer something different then the normal white noise of “buy my advice, buy my services, buy my book, attend my weekend seminar at the Hilton hotel ballroom…I’ll make you lots of money”. “The Cluetrain Manifesto” is written by four authors, Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searles, and David Weinberger and offers one of the most refreshing and simple approaches to creating a business model that could spell success for companies large or small, web-based or traditional.
The most exciting thing about the ideas offered by these four men is that what they are saying is not new, by any stretch of the imagination. In fact their basic premise is quite ancient. There is a famous saying ‘love is love, but business is business’ however the authors of “Cluetrain” suggest there is one more addition to that saying, ‘…and markets are human’. Starting with the example of ancient open air markets, the authors point out that business began with human to human contact. A personal relationship, between one person and another, came long before the business relationship of buyer and seller. The old saying above is hinting that, somehow, a business relationship trumps a personal one. Levine and all the others couldn’t disagree more. Back in the good old days before the industrial revolution all business was personal and businesses today who have forgotten that fact are paying the price and hurting their bottom line.
Why are the authors telling us this now? The internet with its promise of quick communication and reduction of space and time is returning the conversation back to the people. Suddenly businesses that have found success in the real world are struggling to find the same success on the internet. They are missing the ‘cluetrain’ that keeps telling them its time to get onboard. The opportunities the internet offers will be squandered if businesses don’t return to the ancient market philosophy. Customers want to be treated like humans, not ATM machines who are their strictly so the business can get money out of them. These same customers are on the internet and are becoming quite savvy at recognizing when they are being ‘sold’ rather than treated like a friend.
The earth shattering advice offered by the authors of “The Cluetrain Manifesto” is nothing new and not complicated at all, and they are the first to admit it. The book begins with 95 theses and each one is really simple. Number one, markets are conversations! Number 19, companies can now communicate directly with their markets. Number 53, there are two conversations going on, one within the company and one with the market. Number 95, perhaps the most important, we are waking up and linking to each other, we are watching but not waiting. And the 95 theses presented in the book didn’t form or reform with the widespread use of the internet for business. These are fundamental truths that have been there all along and the authors are simply trying to remind businesses of that fact. Perhaps that is why they don’t actually charge for this advice. They, themselves are humans and want to be treated as such by businesses whether they are on the internet or in a more traditional brick and mortar building. It is difficult to understand then why companies go to so much trouble and expense hiring outside consultants to help their bottom line or why they internally refuse to see the writing on the wall. If businesses want to make money they simply have to catch a clue.
