3.0--The new hyperlocal market reality.

• Author: Hall, Robert
• Position: MARKETING SOLUTIONS

"In 2000, it started with 374 listings ... By 2008, that number jumped to 2,218 and nearly doubled to 4,100 as of today."

"Local Harvest's" listings of community supported agriculture groups that provide local fruit and vegetables

IT IS JUST ABOUT IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE this new, upgraded version of "local" Hyperlocal even has its own Wikipedia page. My first book, "The Streetcorner Strategy for Winning Local Markets," extolled the virtue of local but that was before the Internet was ubiquitous or Google, smart phones, Facebook, Twitter or Yelp were invented. This new version of "local" changes everything.

First, a little perspective. We once lived in a local world--call it 1.0. We mostly bought our groceries, pumped our gas and did our banking with locally owned and operated businesses. For better or worse, you knew them and they knew you.

Then the world began to centralize and consolidate into larger and more distant providers. People left the farm and the local community and headed to cities. In 2.0, businesses were told they must be big, have scale and become very efficient. Predictions were dire. In banking only five or 10 mega banks would survive. Branches, paper money and community banks would go away. Size, centralization and technology would rule, whereas small and local would ruin.

As a few banks got really big and shuttered branches, the new 3.0 began to unfold. People living in large cities did not leave so much as they began to find new ways to localize their lifestyles. Farmers markets, social and athletic clubs, green belts and sports bars helped reclaim the village even in urban cities.

This accelerating move to local is driven primarily by three key trends. First is a growing backlash and distrust of large institutions. Put the word "big" in front of government, unions or business, and they become less attractive. Companies like Wal-Mart and big box retailers began to meet resistance from local communities who wanted to protect and support local businesses. Even darling tech companies like Apple and Google became suspect based on their use of our personal information. Large banks lost retail market share to community banks. While the younger generation mostly eschewed traditional banking and branches, the older crowd continued to value branches and, as the stock market unraveled, low-cost deposits flowed into branches.

Second, there is a growing affinity emerging for local providers. For example the rise of the "locavores" a...