DON’T PANIC YOURSELF OUT OF BUSINESS!

The information highway is a blessing and a curse in this day of split second happenings and knowledge, some of which is true and some of which is simply hype. The normal response to the initial wave often spears panic because as humans we are conditioned to run and hide at the first sign of what we perceive to be danger.

Problematic is the word ‘perceive’. Before jumping ship at the first wave, it is better to analyze the true affect on you, your business and your clients. Often larger ships in the harbor will try to intimidate the smaller crafts, but if you know anything about the ‘rule of the seas,’ you would know that the small crafts have the ‘right of way!’

The recent news of information leaving a particular social media site and being used by an analytical group is a prime example of the type of scare that can cause a mass exodus without first thinking through and  analyzing ourselves why it would be beneficial for large companies to act like they are incensed and try influencing the smaller market out of the harbor.  Who really looses in this scenario?

Everyone has been using analytics for some time now on our websites, our social media, our CRM’s and more. Are we so naive as to think it is wrong for big companies to research us but we have the right to find out everything we possibly can about our potential and current customers. Think about it, we know that even stores we walk into chart our buying habits, not to make us like drones but to get us to buy more from them than their competition.

Fear is a good thing in the right situation, but this will either blow over or one big ship will attack the other big ship and we will all be left to pick up the peaces and profit from them. Keep navigating the course you know will work for you and keep a watchful eye on the sharks in the water as they are the real threat!