OPERATING IN FAST MARKETS; HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN THERE HAS BEEN A PARDIGM SHIFT IN MARKETS

OPERATING IN FAST MARKETS: HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN THERE HAS BEEN A PARDIGM SHIFT IN MARKETS?

            A paradigm is the operating foundation of a market. It defines what is the one thing that drives the functioning of a market. The paradigm that drove the car market in 1904 was low price. Henry Ford understood this. This is why the Model T became one of the greatest brands in American history. The paradigm that drove the American car market was that most people could only afford an entry level vehicle.  In 1923, Albert Sloan of General Motors understood that America had changed. America now had a significant middle-class. This changed how cars had to be marketed successfully in the United States. Albert Sloan picked up the paradigm shift.

            How Albert knew that there had been a paradigm shift in the market is instructive for today’s modern marketers. Albert understood the paradigm shift because of his wise use of social media. When Albert took over as CEO of General Motors, he toured the country and spoke to countless people. Social media is the engagement between brand and product. Albert Sloan created a social media brand at GM through his engagement of people in conversation---not unlike using a Facebook page in our era.  By coming into contact with all this information, Albert realized that people now had disposable income. Because of this, they would be willing to pay more for a car if the car was more comfortable to use. General Motors installed windshield wipers, lights for evening driving,  heaters to warm passengers during cold weather months. A critical element in General Motors marketing was that they offered self-starters.

            Prior to this, driving a car was a physically demanding experience. To start a car, a driver had to crank it. It took a certain amount of physical strength and stamina to do this. This is why few women drove cars before 1923. Sloan understood this by talking to women. These conversations, this engagement through 1923 social media, allowed Sloan to create a lucrative market in women drivers. This is a market that Henry Ford did not realize existed.

            In the modern era, social media is a critical tool because social media is about engagement between brand and customer. This engagement large, scaled engagement creates tremendous amounts of information. This information tells a contemporary marketer exactly when the operating foundation, the paradigm, of a market has shifted.  

Dean Hambleton

dnhambleton@gmail