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This article is Part II of a three part series which is based on the marketing book Groundswell: Winning In A World Transformed By Social Technologies. In Part I I had discussed what exactly a groundswell is, the changing rules of the free market, outlined the concept of the sum being greater than individual parts and added some personal reflections on these topics. In this article I will address why a brand is dictated by customers and not by an individual or company providing the product or service representing the brand.

Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing was based upon a company developing an advertisement and said company would release their advertisement to the public via print media (magazines, newspapers, etc.), radio commercials, or television commercials. This was one-way communications where the company who was marketing the product or service would push the information to the general public in hopes that sheer repetition and timing would increase the likelihood of someone making a purchase of the advertised product or service. The consumer would accept the advertised product but had little influence concerning the shaping of the advertisement for the product, the product development cycle or the product itself. Given the explosive growth of the Internet, social media, and online communities this concept is dramatically changing.

A New Way Of Thinking
Yesterday in The Groundswell Effect Part I I had mentioned that institutional power is being challenged by the groundswell. This has all come about due to a convergence of three forces which are people, technology, and economics. People are being connected more thoroughly and rapidly than ever before through such avenues as social media. Technology serves as the enabler of people due to the rapid advances in technology and connectivity. Finally, the economics of the Internet is traffic = money. The collision of people, technology and economics create the groundswell.

As discussed in The Groundswell Effect Part I the groundswell is changing the way the free market operates. No longer are manufacturers of products or suppliers of services defining the rules and pushing information to the consumer. The groundswell has allowed for two way communications, and  even in increasing regularity the consumer is defining the brand for the manufacturer or supplier as a result of interactions occurring in the groundswell. The discussions occurring in social networking communities such as Facebook and Twitter, definitions posted in such open source forum as Wikipedia, and even dialogue prompted by independent bloggers  such as myself are all defining individual brands and the world in which we interact.

The Groundswell authors, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff provide numerous examples of this hijacking of brand identity within their book. I will not reprint those here but I highly recommend their book if this is an area of interest for you; the point is – this is happening with increasing regularity and there are documented examples. As introduced yesterday in The Groundswell Effect Part I, the rules are changing – crowds are more powerful than individuals and the crowds are redefining the rules and reshaping our products and services. This is bad news for some but a tremendous opportunity for others.

Is The Groundswell A Threat Or An Opportunity?
There is no doubt that the groundswell is a threat to traditional business. Individuals and companies operating in the old way of thinking will undoubtedly have difficulties, and although I hate to revisit the overused mantra of “change or die” prominent in so many business books I believe in this instance it is true. Web savvy consumers will no longer accept poor product or service quality coupled with superb marketing. The Internet allows people to discuss products and services effortlessly with the whole world to see, therefore the product or service delivery must be flawless from beginning to end.

On the other hand, there are an abundance of opportunities for those who embrace the change brought about by the groundswell.  In my opinion the organizations with the most opportunity are startups. Since startups do not have the baggage of a traditional organization they can start with a clean slate and begin building their processes for optimal execution within the groundswell. On the other end of the spectrum are the traditional, established companies who have a greater challenge as change within an established firm is often the most difficult – there are opportunities here though, it just depends mainly on people’s willingness to change.

Other opportunities lie in the area of product or service development.  The Internet allows for a greatly increased product development cycle of rapid prototyping, failure, and adaptation. As such the Internet allows for a greatly increased rate of evolution than has occurred in the past. Rather than researching the feasibility of an idea for a long duration, developing the product for another year or greater, and then releasing the product, the new method will be, release the idea to the public and monitor the groundswell chatter. The feedback from the groundswell will be used to improve the idea, which will next be prototyped and the cycle repeated. Increased feedback frequency and product and service development cycles generally equal faster time to market and increased profit.

I ask you to consider one final point. Groundswells and the Internet are also changing the way customers behave in regard to the manner in which they make their purchases. In the past customer loyalty was nearly guaranteed, as people operating offline generally do not change behaviors quickly. However, the groundswell creates an environment of fickle, uninhibited customers, as when operating online, people may often change as soon as they see something better. Take the points of increased rapid prototyping and change in customer behavior and magnify this across millions of people across the Internet and you can imagine the impact this has on business and society.

To Be Continued…
In Part III I will conclude this series by discussing the growing importance of relationships and how relationships are impacted by the groundswell.

Individuals and company brands must evolve to meet the business evolution brought about by groundswells!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding

This article kicks off a three part series entitled The Groundswell Effect. This series is based upon the book Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed By Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. While making my way through this book I walked away with three important concepts, each one will be addressed in a separate article:

1.  The whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts
2.  A brand is dictated by customers not by an individual or company
3.  Relationships are key

Part I will address what exactly a groundswell is, identify the changing rules of the game that we each take part in, and in doing so reinforce the first concept of the whole being greater than the sum of it’s parts.

What is a Groundswell?
Groundswell was a term originally coined by Forrester Research in a 2006 report titled Social Computing: How Networks Erode Institutional Power, And What To Do About It. According to the Groundswell authors “the groundswell is a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other instead of from companies.” Simply put, in the past if I had a question concerning the quality or usefulness of a particular product or service I would go to the company offering said product or service. Most recently though, if I had these same questions I would go online and read things such as blogs, customer reviews, discussion boards, wikis, etc. and not even  go to the company. The groundswell is the gathering of individuals and their interactions in these online communities which is essentially the Internet as we understand it.

The Rules Are Changing
This new dynamic is essentially changing the rules by which the free market game is played. In the past a company controlled communications regarding a product or service by being selective or limiting the amount of information released to the public about said product or service. The concept of the groundswell shifts the power away from the manufacturer or service provider to the user community. Manufacturers and service providers are realizing this is occurring whether they like it or not and are attempting to adapt by participating in the groundswell and as a result have a stake in shaping the communities perception of their product or service.

The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of It’s Individual Parts
As a result of my engineering background I have known this concept to be true for years but mainly in a high technology system context. Consider your car, although the individual parts such as the brakes, engine, onboard computer, etc. may be complex, powerful, and add value it their own right, it isn’t until they are combined into a complete functioning vehicle that their true power and value is unleashed. The whole vehicle is much greater than the sum of its individual parts.

Now consider this concept in a marketing and crowd behavior sense, which is the context of groundswells. Simply stated, an immediate assumption is that one person + one person = two people or 1 + 1 = 2. However two people working together is a much more powerful force than the two people working in isolation as individuals. Interestingly enough, the more people you add to the mix the more powerful the effect becomes – this is the essence of the whole being greater than the sum of it’s individual parts. Anyone who has ever worked in both an individual and a partnership situation knows this to be true.

Personal Reflection
In my experience I have found what the authors are saying to be true. Word of mouth is generally the biggest item to convince me to try something, especially when it comes from a friend or group with similar tastes. The web makes retrieving this information extremely easy, nearly instantaneous. As mentioned in my Consistency and Exclusivity post I tend to gravitate towards certain brands and stick with them over time.

Pockets of information form around these brands through groupings of user communities, this is certainly the case with brands such as Apple. If I am to purchase a brand, product, or service that I am unfamiliar with I almost always check online to find quality information about the expected purchase which is generally at my fingertips. Personally, the only meaningful contact I have with a company is at the point of sale where my opinion has already been formed through groundswelling. Another example is Starbucks, where this company actually formed it’s own individual Facebook and Twitter to tap into the power of the groundswell. For your convenience I have provided links both the Starbucks Facebook Page and the Starbucks Twitter Page as examples. For more on the role of Social Media in business development refer to my past articles titled Social Media Parts I, II, and III.

From a personal context consider the effect this has on your purchasing decisions. Personally, it is true that I am interested in nice ads and marketing campaigns that attract my attention based upon my interests. However, I am much more interested in online user reviews as opposed to industry experts and critics and most interested in friends and colleagues with similar taste. To finalize this point consider the impact an opinion a friend with similar taste and interests has on your decision making, now take it to the next level and consider the impact an online user community demonstrating trends concerning a product or service prior to your purchase and you will understand the power of the groundswell.

To Be Continued…
In Part II I will discuss why a brand is dictated by the groundswell and not the company offering the product or service.

The power of the collective groundswell is much higher than that of an individual!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding

While writing What Is Class? Parts I and II, I had almost gone down the path of discussing “The Dumbest Person In The Room” concept, however I stopped short as what was meant to be a sidebar quickly took on a life of its own. Furthermore, a reader had made a comment to the effect of surrounding yourself with greatness in response to my Snow & The Snowball Part III article. Given the timing of the comment this seemed an appropriate time to discuss this topic.

The Dumbest Person In The Room
Throughout my career I have always tried to position myself as “the dumbest person in the room.” At first glance this may appear to be repulsive, especially to professional minded readers of this blog, however there is a method to my madness. When first entering a group, company, or organization and if in fact you are the dumbest, or to be kinder, least knowledgeable in a subject matter, there is a tremendous learning opportunity – nearly everything and everyone you come into contact with is a new experience – if you take in the knowledge like a sponge and properly apply it – you have nowhere to go but up. On the other hand, if you are the smartest person in the room, you are pretty much topped out and really there is a risk you may be dragged down by your environment.

Stretch
The smartest person in the room is the most comfortable position and as a result the least challenging. Lobsters (see The Power of Positive Part II for more on lobsters ) are most comfortable in this environment because it is easiest to stay on top and keep others down. Conversely, the dumbest person in the room is downright uncomfortable – at least in the beginning – however this is where the most learning takes place. Like anything else worthwhile, this is challenging, however the rewards are great.

In my career I have found once entering a situation I would be the least knowledgeable – on purpose, and then over time gain enough knowledge to gain mastery of a subject or situation. Once upon a time I was a young man in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and was newly promoted to the rank of sergeant. Once promoted I had the opportunity to attend the Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) academy which is basically a leadership school. While attending I learned at least one valuable lesson that I have carried with me throughout my military and civilian career passed down from an instructor – “a little bit of stress is a good thing.”

The idea being not too much, not too little but just an optimal amount. If you are not at least a little stressed, you are not growing or in other words, stretching. When you position yourself as the dumbest person in the room you will likely be uncomfortable – but this is not a bad thing. You are in essence, growing and stretching, and in turn positioning yourself for bigger and better things. After some time has passed you will transition from being the dumbest person in the room to the smartest and it will be time to move on. There is not a set time, but you will know based on your feelings towards a given situation – just trust your instincts.

Concerning your feelings on a group or situation – are you empowered and energized? Admitted it is difficult to position yourself in situations where you are empowered and energized, however it is well worth the effort. In situations where I am growing and stretching I feel a burst of energy, although there may be a bit of uneasiness about the unknown, the overarching emotion is excitement and motivation. Conversely I have experienced environments and projects with minimal challenge or growth – uneasiness was missing, but so too was the excitement and motivation.

This ties in perfectly to the concept of “marrying up” that I had introduced in Snow & The Snowball Part III. In surrounding yourself with people in either your personal or professional life you should attempt to position yourself with others who bring something to the table and you learn from just by mere association. Again, this has nothing to do with wealth, fame, or success, but has to do with intangible qualities such as class and your feelings in a given environment or group – are you empowered and energized?

Strive to be the dumbest person in the room!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding

Background

Definition of Class
So if one’s class is not directly related to one’s wealth, formal education, or pedigree, what is it then? In my opinion, class is really the respect one demonstrates to another, regardless of wealth, formal education, or upbringing. It is really how a person or group behave or handle, people or situations in their lives and the perception of others towards this behavior. Class is also maintaining a positive attitude throughout even the most trying of situations. Consider the following example.

A Practical Example
A sterling example of class may be viewed in the case of Drew Bledsoe. For the complete story please refer to the referenced blog, however I will provide a brief summary. Before those of you who are not sports fans or from New England decide to quite reading here, I must note that this is not meant to be sports oriented but just a relevant example. In short, during the 2001 football season, Drew Bledsoe was injured and had to cede to second string (at that time) quarterback Tom Brady. When Bledsoe recovered, Brady finished the remaining season with a Super Bowl victory and Bledsoe watching from the sidelines.

As an unwritten rule, Bledsoe was entitled to finish the season, and would have likely had his teammates backing. However, Bledsoe put his individual needs aside and conceded to the needs of the team. In addition, when Bledsoe left New England that same season, he took out a full page ad in two newspapers thanking fans for their support. So, let’s look at this a bit closer. What made Drew Bledsoe classy in this situation?

He put the needs of others ahead of his own, which is consistent with a service mentality. Drew Bledsoe demonstrated a tremendous amount of class by putting his needs aside for those of the team and fans. Lesser men, without as much class may have pushed to be put back into the first string lineup and may have been successful in doing so. However, Drew Bledsoe had made a conscious decision to behave selflessly and therefor exhibit a true example of class.

Drew Bledsoe had also demonstrated much class with his farewell message by  means of several newspaper ads in New England. He could have shown bitterness for being sidelined during his team’s success, however even with his departure he had shown class, which was consistent with his overall behavior and individual brand. In closing, remember that class is not tied to wealth, education, pedigree, one’s social circle, but to the respect shown to one another. Individually and/or as a business treat others with respect and over time your brand will be recognized as a class act.

Class is a combination of respect towards others and maintaining a positive attitude throughout!

-John Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding

In starting Cape Cod Branding a concept that Amy and I discussed was that of class. The naming of Cape Cod Branding was purposeful in that Cape Cod denotes a certain level of sophistication and draws association with small upscale specialty boutiques as well as a world renowned vacation spot for the wealthy. The branding aspect is meant to connote a certain level of business knowledge and convey this to our customers. This article launches the first of a two part series titled What is Class? In Part I I discuss the concept of class and in Part II class will be defined as well as a practical example provided.

What is Class?
What exactly is class?  I would like you to ponder the following questions relating to class:

1. Is it the amount of wealth one possesses?
2. The level of formal academic education achieved by an individual?
3. An individual’s pedigree or upbringing?

I have found the class question to be a tough nut to crack and have had countless hours of discussion with Amy concerning this topic and will provide our conclusions.

While reflecting on this topic I found myself drawing upon my past experiences and those of my business partner to answer this question.

Wealth and Class
Does wealth define class? While cataloging the individuals I had known with wealth there were some I would consider classy, while others were most assuredly not. Conversely, I know of individuals considered poor by material standards but who I consider contain much class.

Education and Class
What about formal education – does this indicate class? Again, as with the wealth aspect, I have found that education does not define class. In my travels I have had the good fortune of interacting with a wide range of individuals from high school dropouts to those educated within the Ivy League. As with the wealth test, I could not surmise a direct correlation between education and class.

Pedigree and Class
Surely then, one’s pedigree or upbringing must indicate class. As with the other aspects, not necessarily. I have witnessed that those with a “proper” upbringing can perhaps erect a facade of class, however those in the know (either raised or self taught) will easily pierce this, regardless of upbringing.

To Be Continued…
In Part II I give you the answer of how I define class based upon my experience and provide an example of class.

Class is an elusive quality and not easily defined!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding

When I first spoke with Mary, she told me about her vision for Heritage Stories, and how helping families connect is her driving motivation. Mary’s story is perfectly suited for Christmas. She has just released an E-book entitled The 12 Gifts, and it is her gift to all of us. The 12 Gifts is a treasure trove of suggestions for strengthening the bond between family and friends. It offers ideas for thoughtful gifts and mementos that can be shared among family, and passed down to future generations.
Mary told me that we all have a basic human need to connect and be social. She feels that for her, personally, understanding her history helps to ground her.

Her insightful blog, www.Heritage-Stories.com is dedicated to helping families re-connect, and keeping that connection strong. She offers advice, links to beneficial sites and stories that others have shared. It’s a fun and informative site, whether you’re just starting your journey of tracking your family’s history, or you’re already well on your way to a fully filled-in family tree.
As we celebrate with our loved-ones, remember this should be a holiday season of “connection not consumption”.

Mary’s complimentary E-book, The 12 Gifts may be found here.

Happy Holidays from CCB!

-Amy Stevens Adams of Cape Cod Branding

A former classmate from the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Carey Business School had contacted me and asked how we ramped up so quickly. Since there was interest on his part, I thought others might be interested as well so I am providing the top three items that we here at Cape Cod Branding believe attributed to this. My plan is to touch briefly on each of these points for today’s discussion and then follow up at a later time and discuss each in greater detail.

Driving Web Traffic
When we launched CCB Buzz in early December I recall our traffic was in the single digits for about the first week. After a short time we ramped up quickly, double digits, and then triple. In my mind I had a goal of attempting to drive towards doubling web traffic every day. Initially this equated to something as simple as increasing web traffic from two hits to four hits, which of course does not sound very exciting and was the equivalent of watching paint dry. However over time as the numbers grew, so did our excitement.

That being said I thought about the top three things that got us to where we are today and they are the following:

1. Partnering – Two are better than one.
2. Content – Offer value to your readership.
3. Frequency – Post often.

Please keep in mind the following when reading this article and reviewing the accompanying WordPress screen captures:

1. The three items identified in this article are in addition to the Five Keys to Success that I identified in my previous articles titled the The Five Keys to Success Parts I and II and serve as a foundation for the more blog specific topical items of partnering, content, and frequency
2. The CCB Buzz blog was launched on 12/1/08
3. The screen captures were taken at approximately 1:30 PM EST on 12/23/08

Above all, keep in mind that there is not one set method of generating traffic – this is simply our view on the world. My thought is that there is a certain magic that takes place based on a convergence of factors; for me it was a mixture of partnering, content, and frequency but for you it may be different. Experiment a bit – try an approach, monitor the results, and then adjust if needed. Stick with it and enjoy yourself.

For today I just wanted to introduce the topic and identify the three items which I believe were instrumental to our success in such a short time. After the Christmas holiday I will delve deeper in each area providing a separate blog article for partnering, content, and frequency respectively.  In the meantime, Amy will be providing a feature of our first client at Cape Cod Branding which will be similar in scope to the first feature from Amy on Why We Started Our Business Cape Cod Branding.

Partnering, content, and frequency have been the formula to our success!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding

As we are easing out of the weekend, and the snow was first being replaced by freezing rain and now by bright and sunny weather here on The Cape, it seems like an appropriate time to wrap up the Snow & The Snowball series. This article will conclude our discussion on The Snowball which is the biography of Warren Buffett. As a refresher three pertinent points were identified from this book:

1. Accumulating wealth may be likened to building a snowball
2. Zig when everyone else zags
3. Marry up, not down

In Part I we discussed how building anything of quality, whether it is wealth, a business, an individual or company brand may be likened to building a snowball, by adding to it a little over time it gradually accumulates significant value. In Part II we discussed why following the crowd is often not desirable. Finally, today I will wrap things up and discuss the concept of marrying up.

Marry Up, Not Down
This may seem like silly advice, especially from the biography of one of the greatest financial minds and richest men in the world. At first reading you may find this to be a cold statement and akin to using someone for gain. However, Warren Buffett, and other successful people I had heard this advice from, are not talking about money, fame, or success. In a time when everyone seems to be discarding the old for the next best thing, what can possibly be more important than money or social standing?

Although he does not flat out say it; my interpretation of this statement is to marry someone with class. I will not get into the concept of class, because I will delve into that much deeper this week in future posts, however I will say that it has little to nothing to do with money, fame, or success and it is really an intangible. I am willing to bet that he meant that whomever you marry should bring something to the table and the couple as a whole team should be greater than the sum of its individual parts. In my opinion, the true test is whether you feel better with the other half of the relationship than without, does the other person make you a better person and improve your overall situation just by their very essence of being there.

The purpose of this blog is not to provide marriage or couple advice, but rather to introduce a concept I found interesting, located in an unlikely place, which allows for further elaboration. Let’s take this a step further and expand it to all relationships, whether we are talking personal or professional relationships or just life experience in general.

In a previous post titled the Power of Positive Part III I referenced a quote from John F. Kennedy, specifically – “A rising tide lifts all boats.” Marrying up is the same fundamental concept. When a person marries up they join a partnership where they realize that “A rising tide lifts all boats” and that in order for another candle to be lit, the original does not need to be extinguished, meaning that the success of another does not extinguish their success, but quite the opposite – it enhances it. In my opinion this concept should be applied to all relationships.

A true test, is how you feel before and after when you are interacting with a person, group, or organization . If you are like me you may tend to procrastinate and not enjoy starting anything, regardless of the task, but once into it excel, and then at completion be completely energized and feel better for having a particular experience. Ask yourself this simple question after each life experience – Do I feel better after said experience then when I started? If the answer is yes you are all set, if the answer is no, there is some fine tuning to be done.

“Marry Up” and surround yourself with others who lift you up and propel you to success!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding