Consumers: The New Marketing Department

As discussed in my post last week, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff define groundswell as,  "a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from a traditional institution like corporations"(Bernoff, Li 9). Later in the text, the authors focus on "energizing" the groundwell. What exactly does it mean to energize the groundswell? I'll use a personal experience to break it down. 

I am a member of Lifetime Fitness in Austin. I joined the organization in Dallas when I was 14. Truly, I have never been a part of a better gym in my entire life. The staff is great, the facility is state of the art, and it's 24 hours. This past semester I was running low on money, so I froze my membership. After a horrible experience at another gym in the Austin area, (if you had a class with me last semester, you heard about my troubles) I decided to return to Lifetime. After explaining my financial status, and desire to rejoin, the manager in charge worked with me so I could become a member again. 


Since I rejoined, the manager has followed up with me to make sure I am happy with the gym multiple times. They asked for my opinion and genuinely made an effort to see how I was doing. This type of customer service was unlike anything I had ever experienced. In fact, to this day, I still rave about how much I love Lifetime's customer service.


Now, you're probably wondering what does this have to do what does this have to do with anything. The answer: everything. Without even realizing it, I became so enthused by Lifetime, that I started advertising for them! This type of reaction is what many companies aim for. 

In chapter 7 of Groundswell, the authors discuss that word of mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools. According to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, it is "the most honest form of marketing, building upon people's natural desire to share their experiences with friends, families and colleagues." In addition, the text highlights some other key reasons why this is such a successful marketing agent: 


1. It's believable: People - especially ones you know personally - are way more believable than the media or any advertisement 


2. It's self-reinforcing: If you hear it from one person, you are interested. Hear it from more than that, you are likely to believe it - even if you do not know the person who told it


3. It's self-spreading: Like most things go, you tell one person, they tell another, and so on. It creates a wildfire effect. 

In the opening of the chapter, we hear a story about a man named Jim who had a piece of luggage that broke. He contacted the company about their poor production and not only did they fix Jim's back, but they fixed the product as a whole. Jim, now satisifed, talks about the company all the time and what wonderful service they have. Again, without realizing it, Jim has become a marketing tool for the company.


How do companies achieve this type of success? One example from the text talks about how companies can create "forums" for feedback and advice. This is a very critical step if a company really wants to get to know, and satisfy, their consumers. Forums allow for the consumer to express how he or she feels about a product, or provide tips for future products.

Have consumers become the new "marketing department" of companies? I think it is safe to say that the answer is YES. Just as we post reviews on websites, we communicate verbally about our experiences in stores, with products, or customer service representatives. These "experiences" become marketing tools, thus we have successfully "energizing" the groundswell.