An increasing number of B2B companies are asking themselves:
- What's going on with this Web 2.0 stuff?
- Should I try something or lay low until it shakes out?
- Where is all this headed? Is it a short-lived trend, or something historically meaningful?
- How much of this transformation is relevant to a business-to-business company?
- Where do I begin?
The most important element of the unfolding Web 2.0 revolution isn't the "what," it's the "why."
Blogs,
wikis,
podcasts and
social networks are examples of Web 2.0
tactics. These digital techniques will evolve over time; morph into new or different things and new approaches will emerge. These are "what" elements.
They are trees, not the forest.
What matters to consumer companies and business-to-business companies as well is the big idea of community building. This is historically meaningful and truly revolutionary.
TIME Magazine just named "You" as its
Person of the Year. Time said 2006 was "a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before... It's about the many wresting power from the few ... We're looking at an explosion of productivity and innovation, and it's just getting started, as millions of minds that would otherwise have drowned in obscurity get backhauled into the global intellectual economy."
What's happening with Web 2.0 is a grassroots phenomena whereby the concept of "consumer voice" is now being taken to a new dimension. The power dynamic has shifted from companies and media to the people. Buzz used to be built by pushing content out (traditional magazines; traditional advertising; traditional publicity). Now buzz is being built with a 'pull' effect, from the ground up, from the masses.
Smart companies understand they can no longer hide: success is dependent on transparency and truth. Make a mistake, alienate someone or do something unethical, and your company will get nailed by consumer-generated media. The negative buzz will grow in a compounding manner.
Formerly untouchable companies will be brought to their knees or forced to repent (
Dell in the Bloghouse). Companies (and PR agencies that fail to practice what they preach) will bear a public wrath (Call Goes out for Edelman and Rubel to Resign). Unethical stealth viral marketing will be revealed (
Sony Confesses to Creating 'Flog,' Shutters Comments).
All this means one thing for B2B companies trying to "get" the Web 2.0 revolution: start by broadening your view of "traditional" stakeholders.
Customers are no longer merely representatives of corporate entities buying and using products. Investors are no longer simply buying, holding and selling stock. Local communities are no longer just sources for new employees. Employees no longer just work for money and benefits. They – and all key stakeholders – have become
empowered consumers who
can be allies or foes. The good news? Enlightened companies can positively influence which way the tide will turn.
Smart B2B companies understand that customers (and other stakeholders) are ordinary people first. We used to separate "work" from "personal" but now they are becoming one. This is a radical notion, and acknowledging this powerful voice has been a missing element until now. Every stakeholder now has a voice that can be heard.
Newsweek's 2006 cover story "
Putting the WE in Web" captured this thought when it said "It's not an audience, it's a community ... The smartest guy in the room is everybody … What makes the Web alive is, quite simply, us … Our presence, most often conducted at the speed of broadband, is constant and mandatory … our everyday existence is a network effect."
Fortune's
David Kirkpatrick has called this power shift "the Bottom-Up Economy." He said "Customers today have more options and less loyalty. They will migrate to businesses that see them as participants in a process rather than as just consumers."
Authors Prahalad and Ramaswamy explain this changing consumer role "from isolated to connected, from unaware to informed, from passive to active."
B2B companies like
SolidWorks (a Beaupre client), acknowledge this powerful voice and focus on
building communities, not just selling products. SolidWorks actively encourages frank and active dialogue. From the top down, its communication model is transparent. The company understands brand loyalty is created when stakeholder needs are met and a sincere commitment is felt. To SolidWorks, customers are not just customers, they are individuals first and foremost – a consumer with personal opinions and needs. Treat them as individuals, engage them, urge them to speak, listen to their voice and meet their needs.
This is the Web 2.0 transformational mindset. SolidWorks applies a variety of digital and social networking tactics (YouTube; blogging by individual design engineers who use their products; podcasting, etc.) to create a "collective intelligence" that is much larger than the sum of individual parts. The company understands these Web 2.0 techniques will morph over time. Fundamentally, this company understands how two-way communication vs. one-way communication (See Beaupre Buzz article:
Belief = PR Success) builds a deeper connection and a more loyal community.
It all comes down to this: if you're a B2B company, and you haven't done anything yet in the Web 2.0 world, begin by understanding one profound transformation:
It's not about you anymore, it's about we.
- Andy Beaupre
