The Groundswell - Keep Up or Get Out of the Way

Have you heard of the groundswell? If you are involved in the world of marketing and public relations, the answer should be yes. If your answer is no, then do yourself and company a favor and pick up BuisnessWeek's Bestseller Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff today.

Now more than ever customers have a huge impact on the success (or failure) of your company or product. Thanks to social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, etc. The people (customers) will have their say and opinions.  Instead of being scared of the groundswell (A social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.) you have two options:

#1."Keep up with Joneses" and jump on board.
#2. Get left behind.

Li and Bernoff suggest option #1 "You cannot sit this one out. Unless you are retiring within the next six months." The authors of this book have done their research and believe the groundswell is unstoppable. Groundswell is based on extensive data with dozens of companies and the result is this - in order to survive you must move forward. 

In Chapter 5 of Groundswell, Li and Bernoff describe the five basic elements you need to build a groundswell strategy. The five elements include listening, talking, energizing, supporting, and embracing. All companies do not share the same goals and objectives, therefore, you must choose your primary objective to focus on. Listening is arguably the most important element of the groundswell strategy, Li and Bernoff emphasize this by placing it first on the list.

For years marketeers believe they have been "listening" to their customers through research strategies. Common research methods such as questionnaires and focus groups allow companies to get insight on what their target audience is thinking about a product or service. These methods are extremely useful, but if you listen to what the people are saying without being asked, you might understand the customer a little more clear. Li and Bernoff believe there are two ways to listen to the groundswell:

 #1 Google your products name along with the word "sucks" or "awesome".
 #2 Check out what the people who have tagged your company or your products on del.icio.us are saying.

If you are working with clients, Li and Bernoff suggest that you are better off working with vendors that provide professional tools. Li and Bernoff believe opening your own private community and/or begin brand monitoring where you can hire somebody to listen to the "Internet" for you. These two strategies should be done not only so you can listen to the customers but you can understand them and act on their needs. Li and Bernoff said it best, "To profit from listening, you need a plan to act on what you learn."

This may seem like a lot to follow if you are new to the groundswell, but Li and Bernoff know what they are talking about and have done their research. If you are in the world of marketing or PR, Groundswell is the book to live by.

If you can remember one thing from this post, let it be this - "The customer is always right."

Below, is a short video of Groundswell author Josh Bernoff explaining how to effectively "listen" to your customers and be a success in a world owned by the groundswell.

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After listening to the video, I hope you decide to participate and "keep up with the Joneses." In this ever changing world of social technology, this may be your only option. Go ahead, embrace the groundswell and move forward.

~ Heidi