Drupal Camp Bound: Customer Communities are the Future

A steady stream of laughter ensues when I tell my friends and small business clients I am attending Drupal Camp in Los Angeles this weekend.  (After I explain that Drupal is an open source type of software that creates fabulous web sites that let visitors become members and companies host tons of efficient/exciting activities.)

When I see the glazed eyes, I explain further.  Patiently.  That:

• Customer communities are the future of/will replace marketing as we know it for all businesses.  Especially small companies and startups.  (I say “will replace marketing as we know it” because not everyone is a believer like you and me.)
• The art of two-way, authentic customer conversations is now a business requirement.
• Small businesses have never had so many cost-effective options to reach their customers and prospects.

There are still tons of small business folks who believe that advertising, one-way corporate speak press releases and other traditional command-and-control marketing is the road to success.  Actually, the world has  changed in the last 24 months.  Most business people I speak to now know what a blog and social media are.  Maybe just not how to use them to reach buyers.  One step at a time.

I am so not a techie, but I have mastered become proficient at uploading posts and photos to WordPress in recent months.  Heady with success, I march onward to further my so-called Web 2.0 skills.  I will always be a user, not a programmer.  So I want to understand a bit about Drupal.  Because Drupal creates elegant, functional web sites for customer communities.   Communities of like-minded people.  Communities or web sites where your customers become your members. The future.

See you in LA.