Enter at Your Own Risk

In chapter 9 of Groundswell, Li and Bernoff reveal the bonuses of embracing the groundswell. In this chapter, they mention an example from Credit Mutuel, a Canadian bank. Credit Mutuel launched an extremely successful website, called "Si j'etais banquier" (or "If I were a banker"). This innovative campaign prompted customers to enter suggestions on how they would run the bank if they were bankers. Now, I realize this program may not sound that innovative, but it was in a very subtle way. Instead of saying "tell us what to do," the bank is asking "What would you do if you were us?" (pg. 188). See the difference? It's the small details that really matter the most.

While reading this example, I was reminded of another advertising campaign referenced in the Trust Agents book I mentioned a couple posts back. GM tried to embrace the groundswell, and failed miserably. In 2006, General Motors launched a campaign to advertise their new Tahoe truck. In this campaign, GM asked users to take video clips of the Tahoe, mix them into their own media, and upload their videos to YouTube. People did exactly this, but the videos that many consumers produced were negative statements about the Tahoe's environment... not what GM wanted to see. Below is one of the user-generated advertisements:

I don't think this is exactly what GM had in mind...

GM learned from this mistake by creating GMNext.com, which featured a wiki for people to share stories about the cars they loved. This website was an overnight success.

Do you see why the first campaign failed and the second succeeded? Don't worry, I'll break it down for you. The Tahoe campaign failed because GM blatantly asked people to advertise their product for the company. In the GMNext campaign, GM asked people to share their passions. It's another subtle difference, but it had a HUGE impact. GM tried to embrace the groundswell, but instead, they just angered it. GM had not considered the potential effects of agency, in which users can transform the intent of messages as they get transferred through social media. The users who created environmentally-conscious advertisements re-interpreted GM's ideas to reflect their own interests. Li and Bernoff warn their readers about jumping into the groundswell, and advise companies to wait until they are ready to face the consequences.

Li and Bernoff also mention later on in the chapter that in order to successfully implement a strategy that embraces the groundswell, like a creative advertising campaign, you need to be prepared to let some of your control go. They assert two main points: (1) No matter what kind of business you're in, your customers can help you, and (2) embracing your customers takes a balance between skill and humility (pg. 193-194). After you allow customers to make suggestions, you can't just stop there. You need to implement those suggestions, or the groundswell is going to call you out on your lack of responsiveness. By allowing both good and bad feedback to be viewed by customers, you will increase your company's transparency. Consequently, customers will be more willing to trust your company. Showing that you are fallible will improve your reputation as a trust agent.

In short, don't be afraid to dive into the groundswell... but don't complain when things don't go your way!