People Count More than Advertising

Growing up in Northeast Philadelphia, people always used the business in the neighborhood. Everyone know that Mickey Callan's dad Lou Calinoff made great pizza, and every 10th one was free. People talked about the Pepper Hash at Lenny's Hot Dogs, and their friends went there to try it. You knew that Nate at Nate's deli was a little abrupt, but you didn't have the wait you had a the Castor Deli.

In those pre-franchise days, where there were few national companies, every one's insurance agent, lawyer, tax man (accountant), and real estate agent was some body's friend, and that was how you knew then and why you used them. Today its a little harder. And advertising isn't the same as knowing someone or getting a referral from a friend.

So social media comes to the rescue. People get to meet on-line and become friends, trading information and making referrals. Recently a friend of mine, Paul Chaney was on Twitter and posted a link to an article called "Ads Versus the Consumer Voice- Who wins?". The thrust of the article was that people really haven't changed, but the media they use to communicate has.

Today, waiting to get home to Philly in a condo in Los Angeles, I see a link posted by a man in Lafayette Louisiana , written by a man in England that I want to share with people in Philadelphia.And the information travels around the world and across the country in less then 20 minutes from start to finish. Amazing technological advance isn't it? And yet it all leads back to the same thing people have done for years, rely upon other consumers experience to make their commercial choices. Recommend someone today- bet both people will appreciate it.