Decades before the rise of the Internet, when an individual wanted to gain insight and understanding, they would go to the library, search through countless shelves of books and newspapers to find information on the topic. The Information Age was ushered in with the power of the Internet. Personal computers, laptops, mobile devices, cell phones and the ease at which the internet is accessible have brought massive amounts of information to the fingertips of people. Is this massive amount of information too overwhelming?
In the Information Age people experienced firsthand the amount of information that they could obtain and the speed at which it could be acquired radically changed how people viewed information. For example an individual looking to purchase a car or obtain a mortgage could Google their specific topic well before ever meeting with the sales person or mortgage broker equipped with knowledge and a better understanding of the offering.
While these massive amounts of information have allowed people to gain valuable insight into just about anything, the new challenge is in the realization that people are drowning in too much information. People are becoming overwhelmed and lose interest quickly.
It is important to understand that what individuals crave is not the information itself, but the value and results the information can provide. An individual who searches for a mortgage is not really looking for a mortgage in as much as they are looking to acquire the American dream of home ownership.
“We are leaving the Information Age and entering the Recommendation Age. Today information is ridiculously easy to get; you practically trip over it on the street. Information gathering is no longer the issue-making smart decisions based on the information is the trick! Recommendations serve as shortcuts through the ticket of information.” [1]
The days of search results from a keyword loses its effectiveness every day as individuals opt for recommendations from other people who have used or purchased that specific product or service. Instead of doing a Google search for Apple Applications, people go directly to the apps store and read the reviews of what other people are saying about each application. Amazon is another example of a company that has truly embraced the Recommendation Age. This process of recommendations and customer reviews strongly influences the buying decisions of millions of people each day.
The Recommendation Age is transforming the way we share information on the Internet. The proliferations of social networking sites like LinkedIn, Face Book and Twitter are taking the Recommendation Age to a new level. The power of these recommendations can have a profound impact on the future success or failure of companies and their products and services.
As people, we place a great deal of credibility on recommendations from our families, friends and colleagues, about restaurants, music, cell phones, books and the like. In the business world, specifically the mortgage industry are we willing to embrace the Recommendation Age? One that encourages customer feedback, greater transparency throughout the lending process, and one that can drive new business efforts?
The mortgage industry is typically slow to adopt new automation; new processes or new ways of thinking so the challenge will be whether we can engage this new Recommendation Age. Are you willing to embrace the Recommendation Age? Has your company experienced the change from information overload to strategic recommendations? Do you see the value in greater openness and transparency?
Share with us your thoughts regarding the transformation to the Recommendation Age.
[1] Chris Anderson The Long Tail
