Nearbound Daily #529: How Versus Who

February 29, 2024

minutes

Ella Richmond

How versus who

Two days ago, Sangram Vajre (WSJ Bestselling Author, CEO & Co-Founder of GTM Partners) joined Jared Fuller (Chief Ecosystem Officer at Reveal and nearbound.com) and Shawnie Hamer (Head of Content at Reveal and nearbound.com) to officially launch the biggest book in partnerships, NEARBOUND and the Rise of the Who Economy.

He was three minutes into his introduction when he stopped, opened the book to page 7, and said,

This is powerful. I’m meditating on this.

He was pointing at the chart you see below.

So, in today’s Daily we’re going to deconstruct this chart and explore the ways buying has changed.

Welcome to the Who Economy

Old world: Buyers Google to find solutions

When you had a question, you used to go straight to Google to find the answer. SEO was king. You trusted Google to give you the right answers.

New world: Buyers ask those they trust

When you have a question, your first thought is, “Who will have this answer?” Maybe it’s someone you know, or maybe it’s an influencer. Since information is everywhere, you’re looking for trust signals to help you cut signal from noise.

Old world: Buyers compare product specs

You looked at features and benefits to make a decision. Review sites helped you make informed decisions.

New world: Buyers see who else is using it

Features, benefits, and reviews aren’t enough to influence a purchase decision. Buyers want context. They want to know who else is using a product and how they’re using it.

Old world: Information is key

Information was hard to find, so if someone could answer ’how’ and ’what,’ people listened. It was assumed that they knew what they were talking about.

New world: Relationship is key

Everyone has unprecedented access to information. Google can find a million different answers to ’how’ and ’what,’ but now the challenge is determining what information is quality. We rely on the people we trust to help do that.

Old world: Companies must be the source

Companies were authorities that built and held the trust of customers. In the ’brand era’ (read the book for more on this), people resonated more with the brand name than the people behind it.

New world: Companies partner with the source

Customers trust people, not institutions. They’re building networks of trust around them. While brand is still important, every company (even household names) must tap into the trust of those surrounding their customers.

Old world: The best content wins

Content communicated authority. Companies or individuals who best answered ’what’ and ’how’ made it to the top of Google’s search results. That was enough to influence a purchase.

New world: The best network wins

Trust isn’t established through ’what’ and ’how’ content. Trust is earned through consistent value-creation. The best companies identify trusted sources and partner with them to get intel, intros, and influence.

Old world: Buyer believes in your product

Customers bought a product and strung together their own solutions. They’d purchase based on information like features and benefits. They believed the best product won.

New world: Buyer believes in your sphere of trust

Customers want to know who you’re surrounded by—integrations and thought leadership. Your ecosystem is a signal of trust that indicates who you are and what kind of product you’ll offer today and in the future.

Chris Walker on the Nearbound podcast

The KING of LinkedIn, Chris Walker (CEO at Passetto, Chairman at Refine Labs) joined Jared Fuller and Isaac Morehouse on the Nearbound podcast to break down the Who Economy and how it’s impacting businesses.

Listen to the episode to learn: