image credit: A. Drauglis Furnituremaker

It’s one thing to talk about how to leverage new social platforms to do business better. It’s another to talk about shifting business models to adapt to the current state of the web.

I think we’re doing well to address the former. My RSS reader is brimming with shining examples of how to engage, execute and measure social media tactics. But the critical conversation that I don’t hear as much about (and maybe it’s because I’m looking in the wrong places) is about how to shift our business modles themselves to better fit into a world where networks are no longer the exception but the norm.

image credit: Helga Birna Jónasdóttir

I’m talking to you, young, hip, fancy social media blogger/guru/maven. You get engagement, community management, and customer interaction.

At least that’s what the young pro blogs I’m reading suggest.

But what about the unsexy stuff?

Do you know your cost of new customer acquisition?

Could you spout off five easy ways to increase average order size?

Can you read a P&L statement?

Can you quickly and easily demonstrate social media’s value to the bottom line?

How are you at using market research data to predict consumer behavior?