You’ve been infected by a meme: Predictions for customer experience in 2013

Memes are one of the simplest representations of pop culture trends. Some sociologists describe them as the atoms of human society, a fundamental unit of culture. Others say memes are idea-viruses that infect the population, jumping from person to person. As simple experiences continue to lead, I wanted to see how the simplest concepts of 2012 have changed customer behavior and will continue to influence behavior in 2013. 

Over the past year, thousands of memes have gone viral and transformed new behaviors and ideas into established and ubiquitous norms. Some memes are the spreadable, imitable images like the three examples below, while others are phrases that reframe popular issues, such as the 1% or the fiscal cliff. 

McKayla's not impressed

Kony 2012

Clint Eastwood's chair

The incredible strength of memes lies in their ability to transform thinking beyond the simplistic phrase. They embody value systems through which new solutions and priorities surface that never would’ve been thought of or accepted without the phrase. The meme I’m most interested in for 2013, though, is the sharing economy. 

This trend in American consumer outlook stands in stark contrast to most business models. Yet, it’s quietly entered the public sphere, changed consumer habits and shifted loyalty. 

To understand it as a meme, let’s clarify what’s proposed by the conjunction of these words: sharing + economy. 

Sharing has grown from a kindergartener’s lesson into an integral, daily habit that’s proven the viability of social networks and the need for a comprehensive digital strategy. Sharing promotes accessibility and openness and crumbles walls between systems and groups. Economy represents the management of resources, generally within an environment of limited supply. Together, this meme instills a shift in perspective from product dependency to proactive, connected citizenry. 

This is already seen in communities where members seek carpools for commutes, develop local farming initiatives, or use apps like Community Leash to find lost dogs. Many companies have implemented internal social networks, added interdepartmental projects or changed top-down communication to be more open and constant. Digitally, the sharing economy represents peer recommendations, mobile commerce, cloud synchronization and big data, and our share everything, #instanation mindset.

But the meme is still nascent.

Sharing economy apps and networks, like Uniiverse, AirBnB, or Skillshare, have yet to establish their utility to the broader market. Younger generations are still the main adopters, though many—young and older adults alike—don’t really trust their “neighbor.” Additionally, brands aren’t fully leveraging how customer perceptions of value have changed and how communication strategies and services may need to change, too. 

The sharing economy meme reaches beyond customer experience and expectations to encompass sub-memes like shared planet, shared knowledge and shared responsibility. Each of these has been reflected in recent marketing campaigns and brand platforms, for example inPatagonia’s “Buy Less” campaign. These implied values and sub-memes are what make memes so persuasive and pervasive—they provide a complete frame to help conceptualize, promote or solve challenges, inventions and trends. 

What memes have you seen infect the population in 2012, and which do you see infecting us in 2013?