Punch Above Your Weight

Groundswell: it’s all about attitude rather than technology

‘Groundswell’ by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff is a thoughtful and clearly written book that is as much about attitude as it is about technology. It benefits greatly from the backing of Forrester Research which has provided the hard data illustrating the changing behaviour of online consumers and their growing use of web 2.0 technologies. Although much of this data is from the US, there are also some useful comparison tables profiling European and Far Eastern consumers by age, geography, political affiliation etc.

The book begins with a useful review of a range of web 2.0 tools that includes separate sections on how to use them, how they can help to build customer relationships and also how they may threaten established ways of doing business. It then moves onto the thorny topic of evaluation – how can you assess which of these tools are right for your company, and what should the timescales for introducing them be? Is the kudos associated with being at the ‘bleeding edge’ of a new tool worth the increased risk of failure, or is it better to wait and learn from the mistakes of others?

Next the authors introduce their customer profiling categories which they rather dauntingly term ‘social technographics’. Do you know which of your customers are ‘creators’, ‘critics’, ‘collectors’, ‘joiners’, ‘spectators’ or ‘inactives’? Clearly if most of them come into the final category (yes – the authors do acknowledge that there are still significant numbers of people who are not prepared to engage online) then your new social media strategy is going to be rather wasted…but understanding the profile of your customers allows you to develop appropriate strategies. If a high percentage of them are critics, then have you thought through how you will respond to negative comments they make on your blog posts? And how will you encourage the creators to contribute the sort of content that the spectators will want to read?

The remainder of the book focuses a chapter on each of 5 specific objectives that ‘early adopter’ case studies of the Groundswell are pursing:

• Listening (or ‘research’ in old money)
• Talking (customer communications)
• Energising (sales)
• Supporting (customer support)
• Embracing (collaborative development)

The examples are bang up to date, and additional value comes from the sections in how the new policies will change the organisation once implemented, and also the ROI calculations to help convince the sceptics. The final chapter demonstrates how the Groundswell principles can be applied within organisations as a necessary precursor to effective external application.

In summary, the Groundswell is about attitude rather than technology. Social strategies can flourish only in a culture of openness where criticism is tolerated and responded to in a proactive manner, change is regarded as an opportunity rather than a threat, and senior managers actively support new initiatives. The book is less clear on how progression can be made within the many organisations that do not meet these criteria…and the end notes would give the text more weight if they were integrated within the chapters, but these are minor gripes. If your role involves implementing or teaching marketing strategy, or if you are an entrepreneur developing your own business, then you should read this book and open your mind to the fundamental changes that it recommends.