Custowners
Do you subscribe to Trendwatching? You probably should. The researchers and writers offer periodic tidbits of consumer behavior patterns.
In this week’s email they offered a link to a mini-report. The second of 12 trends they described hit a chord (and accord). “Custowners” is a term they’ve coined to describe the hybrid of customers and owners, those consumers who actively invest or help to fund the product or service they are consuming. We’ve all seen examples of this trend; you can find many examples at kickstarter.com.
Reading that Trendwatching report triggered a mental connection to a conversation from a couple weeks ago. My college friends Chris and Sherrie and their daughter Kirsten and her roommate (both recent college graduates) treated me to a great ride aboard their boat on Lake Union in Seattle. We stopped at Ivar’s for fish and chips before heading out on Lake Washington to see the Gates’. I suppose Bill and Melinda weren’t home, since no one came out waving on the dock to welcome us, so we went on to see the evening lights of Bellevue. We probably should have called first. Bill and Melinda aren’t much for drop-ins.
On the way across the lake, Kristen’s roommate told the story of her dad receiving a call from her alma mater during the college’s phonathon. Her dad’s response to the ask was not atypical: “I believe I just gave you $250,000. That’s enough.” I completely understand his reply to the ask. He sees himself as a “custowner.” He invested in the product at the same time he consumed (via his daughter) the product. (You’re nervous that I used the word “product” in this example. You’d rather I use “service?” Same diff in this example.) That father helped keep the college running by “giving” tuition dollars. He played a part in helping the institution succeed, or at least survive, for four years. For now, he doesn’t feel obligated or inclined to give more. And he may feel that he has the right to a voice in the life and direction of the college.
Maybe that’s why helicopter parents feel just fine about calling the dean directly.
What if colleges and universities understood—and treated—parents as “custowners?” How would our relationships and communications change? How would our relationships and communications improve?
-Rick Bailey is the principal and founder of RHB and author of Coherence: How Telling the Truth Will Advance Your Cause (and Save the World). Follow him on Twitter @RichardHBailey.