Why Marketing is Everything in the Social Era

Fast forward 20 years to today, where social media adoption and usage is no longer nascent but is well entrenched in the mainstream, and we are faced with a landscape in which there really is no separation between “web” and “social web”. How does this new reality inform the “Marketing is Everything” ethos? I think it enhances and deepens it in three specific ways:

1.  The company/customer relationship has flipped. Whereas previously organizations controlled the flow of the messages to suit themselves (the traditional role of marcomms), now it is the customers who control the conversation about and around organizations and it is up to the organizations to respond appropriately.

2.  The distance between the customer and the company has disappeared. It was in that distance, the “space” between where the organization ended and the customer perception of that organization began, where marketing traditionally plied its trade, attempting to control what the marketplace thought about it. But, as we said, the customer increasingly controls and shapes the messages, through reviews, comments and social media interaction amongst themselves.

3.  The transparency stakes are raised. Because customers are increasingly connected with each other through the social web, they are putting organizations under unprecedented levels of scrutiny. Historically, an organization will have created a “brand identity” (the customer is number one, quality is our priority, etc) that it broadcast continually as part of its marketing message. However, if in the past it failed to live up to the ideals of that brand identity (by creating poor products, behaving unethically, or mistreating customers, for example), it was seldom caught out, or those misdeeds were seldom widely revealed. Now, however, any disconnect between an organization’s stated brand identity and its behaviour is picked up and spread throughout the marketplace. Real transparency has been foisted upon us.

“The landscape for business isn’t changing because of social media; it’s changing because consumer expectations are evolving.” – Brian Solis

The social era enhances and deepens the“marketing is everything” ethos.  Now it’s up to your business and what should you do?

Look inward. Are you living up to the promises you are making to customers? Do your practices and products shine? You need to make sure that when people talk about your organization they have positive things to say. There is no “ignore social and maybe it won’t affect us” option.

Welcome social media use. Open up to the social spaces. Break down walls between departments AND between employees and customers/suppliers/partners. Create a supportive culture. Allow, encourage, even require your employees to use social media. Give them training. Create social media guidelines document and procedures to help your employees navigate the social media waters.