Last post I talked about contextual and societal qualifiers that prove the value of a product… in a less than demure fashion I might add (Sorry about that, but you perked right up when I started talking about shit, didn’t you?).
The point is, that to truly replicate a market online, you can not forget about the challenge of proving a need. Just throwing a product out there, available to the market, will only get you so far. And it is here that innovation is needed to bring e-commerce to the next level of the game.
We as sellers we have to create a world of need (or desire) through the use of context. And how do you create that seemingly easy to comprehend world of context? Content. Explain your product, its advantages and disadvantages. Tell a story. Paint a picture. Sing a song. Anything to put your customer in a mindset where the world isn’t right without your product.
But let’s be serious. A good thing is only good when you can share it with others. The others don’t necessarily have to have the same product but they need to understand that there is value in owning it… maybe even coveting it. Often times the value of a product is only as high as what others will pay for it. This is a KEY element of any market that we must acknowledge. Social validation drives consumer goods.
As the organizer of a market you must embrace and endorse the often intangible contextual and societal elements that drive the value of good.
I said earlier how certain elements were in place to help create e-commerce 1.0, namely the developments of transportation and shipping, currency markets, identity security, etc. Today there are several elements in place to help create e-commerce 2.0. Content creation couldn’t be easier with Flickr, Youtube, WordPress… I could go on and on but the point is create that world of need. If you’re looking for product validation all you have to do is bringing in the social worlds of Facebook, Twitter, etc.
The elements are there, now go out and start convincing your market.
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