10/29/2007 The Corner Store in the Global Community

In 1998 Warner Brothers remade the 1940's movie The Shop Around the Corner. They titled this updated version of the movie, You've Got Mail.

The director of You've Got Mail set out to highlight the small town community feel of the Upper West Side of NYC.

In the movie, Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) is the owner of a small corner bookstore, The Shop Around the Corner, that was passed down to her from her mother. She is part of her community and knows and cares about her patrons. She can recommend relevant books as well as discuss personal issues with her clients.

The Shop Around the Corner is threatened by the mega store that opens around the corner, Fox Books.

And here is where I give away the ending, (so if you have not seen the movie, skip this part). In the end Fox Books is able to offer more choices and lower prices thus putting The Shop Around the Corner out of business. However, all is not lost for Kathleen Kelly because Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) recognizes how valuable Katleen's insights and relationships are to good business and the two merge.

Fast forward 10 years to a time where the Internet has evolved to a mass global community and the online corner stores are enabled to take advantage of not needing mass shelf space of a mega store to offer lower prices. Chris Anderson's The Long Tail and the story of Amazon.com are perfect examples of what is happening to business because of the ability to connect with customers and suppliers through the Internet.

However the initial stages of Internet business started more like a mega store than the corner store, with lots of choices at a low price. Amazon.com did a decent job of recommending books based on what others with similar interests purchased and to the discomfort of many at first, the site would remember your name and your purchasing habits.

However, that was still not the personal relationship that you feel when you walk in to a bakery, mechanic, bookstore, gift shop, or barber shop where you know the names of the children and grandchildren of the people who work there and they know about your latest mistake or accomplishment. Those shops become a personal discovery that each customer feels is their own and takes pride in being a part of the business.

Online businesses started to connect with their customers via emails that were customized based on their buying behaviors and even had their name on the top of the email. Then came video mail where a representative from the store could virtually "look you in the eye" and tell you how much you are appreciated.

But they still did not know you the way your gardener knows you or the cashier at the grocery store.

What are the various reasons why a person would donate to a nonprofit online? Why would someone choose to trust one organization over another? What life changing events affect career decisions? These are the conversations that are happening online, but how can a business or organization respectfully join in and participate?

Well, going beyond knowing your clients and customers, the advantage of the corner store is that they are unique, a place like no other in the world both in physical space as well as a place with real people who let you know they are real and share their stories as much as they listen. To create such a feel in our online communities, companies and nonprofit organizations who have already taken the first step in realizing that their brand is and always has been in the consumer's control, now need to let go of their standard approved corporate speak and let their employees be a real part of the brand and a real part of the community, interacting with consumers allowing consumers to begin to take pride in being part of the organization.

Sherry Heyl

Sherry Heyl is the CEO and Idealist for What a Concept, the first social media agency in the Southeast. Her responsibilities include business development and collaborating with clients to develop online communities of raving fans by integrating streaming video, blogs, podcasts, RSS, and virtual worlds into communication plans for B2B, B2C, Non-profit and Higher Education organizations. Sherry has been recognized as a thought leader in social and collaborative technologies and trends through invitations to speak for many varied associations, conferences, and private events.

She was a key organizer of SoCon07, the first Social Media un-conference in Metro Atlanta and is currently planning SoCon08. Sherry sits on the board of the Atlanta Electronic Commerce Forum as the Programs Director, the board AiMA leading Association Partnerships and the National Advisory Board for KSU Communication Department. Sherry was a 2007 Nominee for the Women in Technology Woman of the Year Award. Sherry is a graduate of Florida State University with undergraduate degrees in Marketing and Creative Writing.

www.empoweringconcepts.net sherryheyl@gmail.com