Harnessing social apps

March 13th, 2008 | Just Jay

MARKETING

Harnessing the Power of Social Applications

People are connecting with one another in increasing numbers, thanks to blogs, social networking sites like MySpace, and countless communities across the Web. Some companies are learning to turn this growing groundswell to their advantage.

Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li

This free article in the MIT Sloan Management Review tells story after story of companies engaging customers, for better or worse) through MySpace, YouTube, and the usual suspects. You’re familiar with many of these examples, but the article is still worth a read.

Companies are used to being in control. They typically design products, services and marketing messages based on their own particular view of what people want. Keeping up with customers has meant conducting research on their needs and performing test marketing of new products and services. Because the balance of power has favored large corporations with a lock on manufacturing, advertising, distribution and other operations, the term “customercentric” was mostly just a buzzword.

I know, I know. You’ve heard it over and over. But your boss isn’t so sure about giving up control. Everyone who sits in a corner office thinks the world would fall apart without them. Soon it won’t be a matter of choice:

Behind all of this is a significant cultural issue: Engaging with the groundswell means admitting that consumers are taking power and that corporations are not in control. It’s a scary and difficult first step to take..

Job-sharing with your customers is not enough. You should be enthusiastically leveraging the groundswell by shifting to “listening” and “energizing”

P.S. For many of us, learners are our primary customers. This chart could be mistaken for instructions on orchestrating the learning functions of the future.

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Moi, vigilante