Book review is written by Hazel Jackson, CEO of biz-group
Having reviewed ‘The Inside Advantage’ by Robert Bloom last month where I was out of my comfort zone, I thought I should develop my confidence and knowledge about the world of Marketing and how social media & rapidly changing digital options are impacting this discipline.
Marketing 3.0 was recommended to me by a couple who use social media extensively for their business and can be seen or heard tweeting everyday. The book is written by three authors, originated in
The book pivots around the concept that as the macro economics of the world have changed, so has consumer behavior – no great surprise. They present past 60 years of Marketing in three phases: Marketing 1.0 was very product centric, Marketing 2.0 evolved into consumer centric and now Marketing 3.0 should be human centric and values driven.
Human Centric means where profitability is balanced with corporate social responsibility. In other words if consumers have a choice between two products or services that are equal they will support the company that contributes more to society. These contributions must be genuine. Companies need to share their mission, vision and values and they need to be really lived. Not something voted on through a post-it note exercise then pasted onto the reception wall, the corporate brochure and website.
I found the principal refreshing that it is no longer just the marketeer’s job to position and pitch something that consumers would buy. But the whole senior management role to make sure the company was built on strong principals and that they delivered something that customers needed, differentiating themselves from the competition and still realizing their role in society. Today consumers can easily compare several similar products; in fact product value is being defined by the consumer. If you are looking for something most people ‘Google’ it, then read the reviews and feedback from likeminded consumers. Marketeers need to treat consumers beyond the 2.0 consumer centric model and see them as whole human beings with minds, hearts and spirits.
At this stage I started asking myself if these guys had really stumbled on something that will change the face of marketing. We’ve known for years in the world of HR how critical this is. I believe companies are defined by their core values and I’ve shared this through previous book reviews: Jim Collins classic, Good to Great; Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, by Verne Harnish; The Go Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann, and genuinely running the biz-group with our core values at the centre.
Recently in the Great Places to Work – Top 10 UAE companies, it showed that core values and CSR initiatives were key ingredients in creating a sense of belonging and value add for employees. These softer components of the company culture meant they were more loyal, committed and engaged. So it comes as a surprise to me that many companies don’t build themselves around values or even if they do, the Marketing team have not been using this for years.
Perhaps this table best describes the difference between where Marketing was or perhaps in some companies still is and what the authors are recommending.
Comparison of Marketing 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0
| | Marketing 1.0 | Marketing 2.0 | Marketing 3.0 |
| | Product-centric Marketing | Consumer Oriented Marketing | Values-driven Marketing |
| Objective | Sell products | Satisfy and retain the consumers | Make the world a better place |
| Enabling forces | Industrial Revolution | Information Technology | New wave technology |
| How companies see the market | Mass buyers with physical needs | Smarter consumer with mind and heart | Whole human with mind, heart and spirit |
| Key marketing concept | Product development | Differentiation | Values |
| Company marketing guidelines | Product specification | Corporate and product positioning | Corporate mission, vision and values |
| Value propositions | Functional | Functional and emotional | Functional, emotional and spiritual |
| Interaction with consumers | One-to-many transaction | One-to-one relationship | Many-to-many collaboration |
Many of the changes in column three are attributed to the rise of social media, which they describe in two categories:
- Expressive – including blogs, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook – places you can express yourself.
- Collaborative – Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, Craigslist – sites where you share, build and contribute.
The expressive sites contribute to people forming opinions. Trip Advisor recently enables entrance through your Facebook page, so not only can you see everyone’s comments on a destination, but now you see your immediate friend’s recommendations – a far more powerful persuasive influence than complete strangers. Because social media is low cost, and bias free it will be the future for marketing communications the authors say. Around 90% of consumers surveyed by AC Nielsen Global Survey stated they trust recommendations from people they know. Moreover 70% of them believe in customer opinions posted online.
Collaborative sites will be used as the new source of innovation and also the proof that multiple brains are more powerful than individual ones in gathering, building and developing information. The overview is marketeers today no longer have full control over their brands because they are now competing with the collective power of the consumer.
Another summary was, in the first stage (1.0) marketing was transaction oriented, focused on how to make a sale. It evolved in 2.0 to being relationship oriented, how to keep the consumer coming back and buying more. In 3.0 it is about inviting consumers to participate in the company’s development of products and communications. So for my simple brain – it is all about conversations. All of the above was in the opening chapter – I was convinced, I didn’t need any more to show me that we had to change the traditional approaches to marketing and get with the new 3.0 way. They do make a point that 3.0 should be embraced without losing all of the traditional marketing components that focus on selling and customer loyalty.
Book Style
They provide lots of case studies, examples and connections to other authors, to market leading brands and to tried and tested theories. In fact there were so many examples it became confusing at times. In one chapter of 15 pages, there were 36 references to other people’s work or source files. The whole book was a bit like reading a blog, heaps of ideas, held together by a general thread – change or be left behind, as I read I was hoping for a Dummies guide to implementing Marketing 3.0 into your business. There were some application ideas but I’d lost the plot a bit at that stage – we need to contribute towards socio-cultural transformation, create emerging market entrepreneurs and strive for environmental sustainability! They share 10 Credo’s in the last “putting it all together chapter” that I felt were a bit disconnected and also condescending.
10 Credos of Marketing
Credo 1: Love your customers, respect your competitors
Credo 2: Be sensitive to change, be ready to transform
Credo 3: Guard your name, be clear about who you are
Credo 4: Customers are diverse; Go first to those who can benefit most from you
Credo 5: Always offer a good package at a fair price
Credo 6: Always make yourself available, spread the good news
Credo 7: Get your customers, keep and grow them
Credo 8: Whatever your business, it is a service business
Credo 9: Always refine your business process in terms of quality, cost and delivery
Credo 10: Gather relevant information, but use wisdom in making your final decision
These apply to Marketing 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 and are general common sense when running a business. It is a shame they finished on such generic messaging.
What I did get which was a huge positive out of the book?
Be a genuine company, look after your employees, value the society in which you do business, think of what you can give back, not just the bottom line and deliver products and services from your heart. Follow these principals and social media, digital channels and anything that might come in the future will all support your cause. Have all these good practices in place and you won’t be worried about social media, or who says what about your company, you’ll embrace the transparency and value the feedback good or bad in the spirit in which it was shared.
