Commercial Intimacy

Commercial intimacy and Trade Me

I think Trade Me is real live, real life proof of the business potency of commercial intimacy.

Very soon you will be able to buy shares in Trade Me on the New Zealand stock exchange. Four years after buying Trade Me for $700m, Fairfax are floating 34% of the company at a price which values the Trade Me business at just over $1 billion.

Four years ago, many wondered if Fairfax had paid way too much for Trade Me and doubted it could grow enough to repay their investment. The price of the new float and the enthusiasm with which it’s being greeted by prospective buyers suggests otherwise.

Trade Me’s on-going growth and success is down to one thing, and I suspect it’s a thing it has always known is the key to its business. Let’s face it, the Trade Me brand wouldn’t win any design awards, but most well-polished brands would gladly trade their gorgeous collateral and clever campaigns for what Trade Me has – a deep, enduring and mutually profitable relationship with its vast community.

Connecting in meaningful ways with each individual in your community, and backing those relationships with performance that does what those individuals want and need, is more important than anything else in your business.