The Groundswell Effect Part III
by John R. Sedivy
Introduction
This article is the conclusion of a three part series which is based on the marketing book Groundswell: Winning In A World Transformed By Social Technologies. In Part I I had discussed what exactly a groundswell is, the changing rules of the free market, outlined the concept of the sum being greater than individual parts and added some personal reflections on these topics. In Part II, I had discussed the traditional marketing approach, the changing direction of marketing caused by the groundswell, and the threats and opportunities caused by the groundswell. Finally, in this article I will address the importance of relationships and how the groundswell impacts relationships.
Relationships
Relationships matter – plain and simple. Your marketing efforts, your network, and your overall personal and professional brands are only as strong as your relationships. Create deep and strong relationships and word of mouth will spread and opportunities will come your way. This has been true in the traditional branding and marketing sense and I have certainly found this to be true in the groundswell.
So how does one develop meaningful relationships? Like many things in life there is more than one answer but I will give you what has worked in my experience. Be true to your word, create value, and be consistent. In my opinion, being true to one’s word, or having integrity is most important and lays the foundation for the other two attributes. If your relationships are built on deception, they will be short lived, regardless of the value you create, and even if you are consistent in doing so. Act with integrity – always.
Secondly, create value in the services you provide or by your mere presence in a given situation. A common theme I had picked up during my time in the Marines and while attending business school was to always leave a place or situation better than when you have found it. In the military, if you were in charge of a given piece of property, take the initiative and clean, organize or improve it in some manner, therefore it is in better shape for the next person. In the business school sense, when participating in a consulting engagement the company receiving your services should be better off than when you arrived – they certainly should not be worse off.
Finally, act with integrity and create value consistently. This is easier said than done, but in my experience if you strive for perfection, you will at least attain excellence. Life is full of ups and downs, and it is admittedly difficult to perform consistently throughout life’s challenges. However, strive to be the best at what you do, and do so in a consistent manner and it will become second nature. Life’s ups will counteract the difficulties and you will achieve consistency. Consistency is enhanced with persistent deliberate practice as I had mentioned in my The Five Keys to Success Part I article.
Relationships & The Groundswell
Although this advice is pertinent to traditional, offline relationships, I believe it holds true for virtual, online relationships as well. In fact, I believe these attributes are even more important in the groundswell – here’s why. Given the nature of the groundswell, and the Internet in general, it is becoming increasing common for people to make personal and business relationships without meeting for some time, if ever. Without the benefit of meeting one another, it is vitally important that relationships be based upon integrity, value, and consistency.
Furthermore, without the benefit of meeting one another in person, budding relationships need to gain a sense of trust – virtually. Furthermore, they need to be confident that you will create value, and do so consistently. Anyone who has ever started and maintained an online business will attest to this. In the beginning, traffic is slow, but builds up quickly over time once a few people are willing to take the risk of dealing with a new business and leave appropriate feedback. Of course there are things that can be done to compensate for not meeting or not having a brick and mortar presence, such as providing your contact information such as e-mail, phone, or physical address on the website.
I have found this to be true with my experience working in virtual environments and increasingly so with Cape Cod Branding and CCB Buzz. In my case, I pledge to write only information that I know to be true from references or from my personal experience; trust is built over time through regular readership and I recognize how sacred a thing this is. The value I offer is by keeping abreast on relevant topics for personal and business development and offering a unique style based upon my personal and professional experiences. Finally, I do so in a consistent manner by striving to write consistently in regards to quality, and frequency of posting and above all else providing a positive experience for my readers.
Cofebuz & Relationships
One last word on relationships. I recommend that anyone interested in further discussion on relationships should head over to cofebuz which is a blog authored by Tim Klabunde. Tim is a former classmate at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and serves as Director of Marketing at William H. Gordon Associates. I am a regular reader and Tim’s overarching emphasis on the creation and maintenance of quality relationships has triggered ideas which I use for my writing.
Relationship fundamentals are amplified in the groundswell!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
The Groundswell Effect Part II
by John R. Sedivy
Introduction
This article is Part II of a three part series which is based on the marketing book Groundswell: Winning In A World Transformed By Social Technologies. In Part I I had discussed what exactly a groundswell is, the changing rules of the free market, outlined the concept of the sum being greater than individual parts and added some personal reflections on these topics. In this article I will address why a brand is dictated by customers and not by an individual or company providing the product or service representing the brand.
Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing was based upon a company developing an advertisement and said company would release their advertisement to the public via print media (magazines, newspapers, etc.), radio commercials, or television commercials. This was one-way communications where the company who was marketing the product or service would push the information to the general public in hopes that sheer repetition and timing would increase the likelihood of someone making a purchase of the advertised product or service. The consumer would accept the advertised product but had little influence concerning the shaping of the advertisement for the product, the product development cycle or the product itself. Given the explosive growth of the Internet, social media, and online communities this concept is dramatically changing.
A New Way Of Thinking
Yesterday in The Groundswell Effect Part I I had mentioned that institutional power is being challenged by the groundswell. This has all come about due to a convergence of three forces which are people, technology, and economics. People are being connected more thoroughly and rapidly than ever before through such avenues as social media. Technology serves as the enabler of people due to the rapid advances in technology and connectivity. Finally, the economics of the Internet is traffic = money. The collision of people, technology and economics create the groundswell.
As discussed in The Groundswell Effect Part I the groundswell is changing the way the free market operates. No longer are manufacturers of products or suppliers of services defining the rules and pushing information to the consumer. The groundswell has allowed for two way communications, and even in increasing regularity the consumer is defining the brand for the manufacturer or supplier as a result of interactions occurring in the groundswell. The discussions occurring in social networking communities such as Facebook and Twitter, definitions posted in such open source forum as Wikipedia, and even dialogue prompted by independent bloggers such as myself are all defining individual brands and the world in which we interact.
The Groundswell authors, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff provide numerous examples of this hijacking of brand identity within their book. I will not reprint those here but I highly recommend their book if this is an area of interest for you; the point is – this is happening with increasing regularity and there are documented examples. As introduced yesterday in The Groundswell Effect Part I, the rules are changing – crowds are more powerful than individuals and the crowds are redefining the rules and reshaping our products and services. This is bad news for some but a tremendous opportunity for others.
Is The Groundswell A Threat Or An Opportunity?
There is no doubt that the groundswell is a threat to traditional business. Individuals and companies operating in the old way of thinking will undoubtedly have difficulties, and although I hate to revisit the overused mantra of “change or die” prominent in so many business books I believe in this instance it is true. Web savvy consumers will no longer accept poor product or service quality coupled with superb marketing. The Internet allows people to discuss products and services effortlessly with the whole world to see, therefore the product or service delivery must be flawless from beginning to end.
On the other hand, there are an abundance of opportunities for those who embrace the change brought about by the groundswell. In my opinion the organizations with the most opportunity are startups. Since startups do not have the baggage of a traditional organization they can start with a clean slate and begin building their processes for optimal execution within the groundswell. On the other end of the spectrum are the traditional, established companies who have a greater challenge as change within an established firm is often the most difficult – there are opportunities here though, it just depends mainly on people’s willingness to change.
Other opportunities lie in the area of product or service development. The Internet allows for a greatly increased product development cycle of rapid prototyping, failure, and adaptation. As such the Internet allows for a greatly increased rate of evolution than has occurred in the past. Rather than researching the feasibility of an idea for a long duration, developing the product for another year or greater, and then releasing the product, the new method will be, release the idea to the public and monitor the groundswell chatter. The feedback from the groundswell will be used to improve the idea, which will next be prototyped and the cycle repeated. Increased feedback frequency and product and service development cycles generally equal faster time to market and increased profit.
I ask you to consider one final point. Groundswells and the Internet are also changing the way customers behave in regard to the manner in which they make their purchases. In the past customer loyalty was nearly guaranteed, as people operating offline generally do not change behaviors quickly. However, the groundswell creates an environment of fickle, uninhibited customers, as when operating online, people may often change as soon as they see something better. Take the points of increased rapid prototyping and change in customer behavior and magnify this across millions of people across the Internet and you can imagine the impact this has on business and society.
To Be Continued…
In Part III I will conclude this series by discussing the growing importance of relationships and how relationships are impacted by the groundswell.
Individuals and company brands must evolve to meet the business evolution brought about by groundswells!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
The Groundswell Effect Part I
by John R. Sedivy
Introduction
This article kicks off a three part series entitled The Groundswell Effect. This series is based upon the book Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed By Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. While making my way through this book I walked away with three important concepts, each one will be addressed in a separate article:
1. The whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts
2. A brand is dictated by customers not by an individual or company
3. Relationships are key
Part I will address what exactly a groundswell is, identify the changing rules of the game that we each take part in, and in doing so reinforce the first concept of the whole being greater than the sum of it’s parts.
What is a Groundswell?
Groundswell was a term originally coined by Forrester Research in a 2006 report titled Social Computing: How Networks Erode Institutional Power, And What To Do About It. According to the Groundswell authors “the groundswell is a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other instead of from companies.” Simply put, in the past if I had a question concerning the quality or usefulness of a particular product or service I would go to the company offering said product or service. Most recently though, if I had these same questions I would go online and read things such as blogs, customer reviews, discussion boards, wikis, etc. and not even go to the company. The groundswell is the gathering of individuals and their interactions in these online communities which is essentially the Internet as we understand it.
The Rules Are Changing
This new dynamic is essentially changing the rules by which the free market game is played. In the past a company controlled communications regarding a product or service by being selective or limiting the amount of information released to the public about said product or service. The concept of the groundswell shifts the power away from the manufacturer or service provider to the user community. Manufacturers and service providers are realizing this is occurring whether they like it or not and are attempting to adapt by participating in the groundswell and as a result have a stake in shaping the communities perception of their product or service.
The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of It’s Individual Parts
As a result of my engineering background I have known this concept to be true for years but mainly in a high technology system context. Consider your car, although the individual parts such as the brakes, engine, onboard computer, etc. may be complex, powerful, and add value it their own right, it isn’t until they are combined into a complete functioning vehicle that their true power and value is unleashed. The whole vehicle is much greater than the sum of its individual parts.
Now consider this concept in a marketing and crowd behavior sense, which is the context of groundswells. Simply stated, an immediate assumption is that one person + one person = two people or 1 + 1 = 2. However two people working together is a much more powerful force than the two people working in isolation as individuals. Interestingly enough, the more people you add to the mix the more powerful the effect becomes – this is the essence of the whole being greater than the sum of it’s individual parts. Anyone who has ever worked in both an individual and a partnership situation knows this to be true.
Personal Reflection
In my experience I have found what the authors are saying to be true. Word of mouth is generally the biggest item to convince me to try something, especially when it comes from a friend or group with similar tastes. The web makes retrieving this information extremely easy, nearly instantaneous. As mentioned in my Consistency and Exclusivity post I tend to gravitate towards certain brands and stick with them over time.
Pockets of information form around these brands through groupings of user communities, this is certainly the case with brands such as Apple. If I am to purchase a brand, product, or service that I am unfamiliar with I almost always check online to find quality information about the expected purchase which is generally at my fingertips. Personally, the only meaningful contact I have with a company is at the point of sale where my opinion has already been formed through groundswelling. Another example is Starbucks, where this company actually formed it’s own individual Facebook and Twitter to tap into the power of the groundswell. For your convenience I have provided links both the Starbucks Facebook Page and the Starbucks Twitter Page as examples. For more on the role of Social Media in business development refer to my past articles titled Social Media Parts I, II, and III.
From a personal context consider the effect this has on your purchasing decisions. Personally, it is true that I am interested in nice ads and marketing campaigns that attract my attention based upon my interests. However, I am much more interested in online user reviews as opposed to industry experts and critics and most interested in friends and colleagues with similar taste. To finalize this point consider the impact an opinion a friend with similar taste and interests has on your decision making, now take it to the next level and consider the impact an online user community demonstrating trends concerning a product or service prior to your purchase and you will understand the power of the groundswell.
To Be Continued…
In Part II I will discuss why a brand is dictated by the groundswell and not the company offering the product or service.
The power of the collective groundswell is much higher than that of an individual!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
