Businesses, I want to emphasize before I continue, businesses – not people, not small groups, not just customers – but entire businesses are slowly finding ways to connect with people.
Prior to this current era of connection economy (coined by Seth Godin) that we are in, businesses stayed away from political movements, from activist groups, from “the touchy subjects” that spread across America.
Now, we are seeing businesses – who employ thousands of people – take a stance. Most recently for gay marriage. These businesses understand that customers are no longer customers, they are friends, and friends stick together. And when you have a group of friends, friends bring in more friends to the group. Whereas, customers rarely do.
When businesses become more human than industrialistic, not only are profits made, but something miraculous happens – public change.
There has never been a better time for businesses to take a stand for what they believe in, to show they are human, to forget trying to appeal to the mass and connect with the smaller association of people who provide 80% of their profits anyway.
It will probably piss some people off, but anything important and worthwhile usually does.
