In Africa, the image of a group of (usually men) sitting under a tree talking is fairly common.  In fact, many villages had a ‘the tree’ where people met to have informal meetings or just impromptu ones.  If you were new in the village, you made stopping by the tree one of your priorities (unless there was an invitation only meeting happening). When formal [read Western] education was introduced, it also happened under a tree. At least until the classrooms were put up.

We have new trees in Africa now. They are of a genus like none our parents ever did see. They are called Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, FriendFeed….need I go on? We meet under these giant trees to connect with each other, build relationships, learn from each other, rally behind causes and so much more. Much more than the old tree could help us do.

I’m under the Twitter tree as @muchiri, the Facebook tree as facebook.com/muchiri and under the LinkedIn tree as linkedin.com/in/muchiri

Come to the tree. Let’s talk. Let’s connect. Let’s learn.

Originally posted at This, That & The Other a few hours ago.

Is it the market’s business what you do after hours?  Is it the customer’s business where you sourced your raw materials, whether the CEO is faithful to his wife or even the CMO’s stand on healthcare reform? Shouldn’t all that matters be the product or service the brand promotes consistently at the perfect price, place & packaging?

Divorce rates in the UK currently stand at about 11.5% per 1,000 married couples.  In the US, the rate is at 3.5%.   When you consider that marriage rates in the US are at about 7.1% per 1,000 this means half as many people are getting divorced as are getting married.  Obviously the idea of failed marriages is not a foreign one.  And then there’s the permissive nature of today’s urban society.  So why the outrage at Tiger Woods and John Terry for infidelity?  They are not even in the marriage business! They are sports personalities!

Apparently, the consumer’s business extends to what famous people do when they are not doing what they are famous for. On this side of the new normal customers aren’t choosing which brands to be loyal to solely based on the price or quality, it’s now about the other things the brand does when it’s not ‘at work’. It’s about all the other peripheral things that have nothing to do with how the product is produced.

What do you tweet about when you’re not tweeting about your product/service? What was your last ‘unrelated’ Facebook post? What have you done for your customers lately that had nothing (or little) to do with you?

Lesson for business? There’s no clocking out. You’re at work 24/7/365. You’re not helpful only when customer’s need more information about your product or following up on a proposal you sent. It’s now all about the customer and what they think is important. If your tweets, status updates, videos and photos are all about you then you’re just a self-obsessed brand people have little time for. Find out what your customers are passionate about and become passionate about them. Be helpful on the customer’s terms.

It’s how I think it is. What do you think?