Social Media Perspective – Without It You Are Blind

THE PROBLEM

Why do so many online businesses fail?

In today’s unpredictable environment, you could certainly argue that factors such as the unavailability of capital and credit, the reticence of prospective buyers, and the general tenuousness of the business climate are to blame.  There is much truth in that view.

Alternatively, some would argue that American business has lost its zest for entrepreneurship, that impending tax changes are casting a shadow over the future, that innovation has become less evident in products and services and that the required courage to take chances is in short supply. There is some truth in that view as well.

Whichever view you adopt, one factor that will materially affect the outcome, is the one that is most often overlooked:  Perspective.

Consider the image on this page.  What do you see?  A man holding a golden orb in his outstretched hands, symbolizing power and a bright future – or an optical illusion caused from the camera’s perspective, of a man pretending to grasp the sun from 93 million miles away, and actually holding nothing?  The difference between these very different realities is perspective.

For example, I would suggest that the relative value of a product or service, the power of a business website, the strength of the competition and the empirical likelihood of success, all change based upon the perspective of the entrepreneur himself.  If he views the business as his protected offspring, like a mother Grizzly, he may cling to wholly erroneous estimates of business reality.  If seen from his limited perspective alone, his loyalty to the idea itself may severely reduce his ability to adapt.  Without guidance from others and without a willingness to view the situation from the perspective of those not intrinsically tied to the project, he may be nearsighted, if not blind.

Myopia in business can be brutal; blindness can be fatal.  Mistakes, often serious ones, will be made if a business relies exclusively on one perspective.

THE SOLUTION

Social Media can play a crucial role in this balancing act between myopia and clarity of vision. What better way to gain insight than to see your enterprise from the customer’s point-of-view rather than your own?  What better path to decision making than through your customers opinion regarding your product or service?  What  better way to gauge reality than to measure it from your customers perspective?  All of these tactical choices emerge from a strategy which begins with Social Media.

Business owners should avoid myopia and strive for clarity of vision.  They should see their products and services as others see them.  They should experience their website through the perspective of their customers, not just the designers or their own.  They should make informed decisions through a clear prism of reality that has the benefit of multiple points-of-view.  In short, they should adopt a Social Media perspective, because without it they are blind.

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