We’re now trusting the opinions of strangers more than those of our friends and family, a change driven fundamentally by the growth of social media such as blogs and social networks, and the increasing opportunity for people to leave opinions, ratings and comments on websites (if you’re reading this you’re proving my point!). This means that consumer opinions are no longer local but have been projected worldwide.

Today established services such as Amazon’s wish-lists and reader reviews, eBay’s voting on sellers and TripAdvisor’s travel recommendations are just the beginning. A new generation of web businesses are moving to the next level by building offers based entirely on consumer recommendations. The majority of these are currently based in the US but will inevitably move to this side of the Atlantic.

So what can brands do to navigate this new influence economy?

Invest in exceptional product / services – in a world driven by consumer opinion the main thing that matters is exceptional product or service. Bad service will lead to bad brand in the service economy.

Listen to the buzz – use the tools of social media to see what people are saying about your brand and the latest trends, track blogs, Twitter and social networks.

Be transparent – use the tools of social media to adopt a position of transparency. Give staff a voice through blogs, and create content to share in social media. Often companies and brands have some of the most interesting stories to tell – we think we do!

Make your brand active in social networks – be where consumers are part of the conversation.

Be more accessible – if consumers are adopting a greater number of places to communicate why shouldn’t you?.