''Groundswell'' is a book by

Forrester Research Forrester is a research and advisory company that offers a variety of services including research, consulting, and events. Forrester has nine North America locations: Cambridge, Massachusetts; New York, New York; San Francisco, California; McLe ...

executives Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff that focuses on how companies can take advantage of emerging social technologies. It was published in 2008 by Harvard Business Press. A revised edition was published in 2011. The book attempts to explain a shift in the relationship between customers and companies, in which companies are no longer able to control customers' attitudes through

market research Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers: know about them, starting with who they are. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness. Ma ...

customer service Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...

, and

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

. Instead, customers are controlling the conversation by using

new media New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...

to communicate about products and companies.

Synopsis

The groundswell is characterized by several tactics that guide companies into using social technologies strategically and effectively. #Listening: Businesses should listen to their customers to understand what the market is looking for in their products. In order to do this, a company needs to find out if their customers are using social technologies and how they are using them. #Talking: Instead of advertising to customers, marketing departments should find creative ways to connect with users about their experience with a product and their feelings about the brand. One common method is participation in

social networks A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for a ...

. #Energizing: Enthusiastic customers are part of the groundswell, and companies can recognize and appreciate these customers by creating online communities and social platforms where they can connect with the brand and provide

reviews A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indic ...

. #Supporting: Businesses can harness the support of their own employees by creating internal social applications for them to connect with the brand, also known as

enterprise social software Enterprise social software (also known as or regarded as a major component of Enterprise 2.0), comprises social software as used in "enterprise" (business/commercial) contexts. It includes social and networked modifications to corporate intranets ...

Groundswell in action

Examples

Some companies distinguish their product through the use of social technologies. Tom Dickson successfully marketed his

Blendtec Blendtec is an American company that sells commercial and residential blenders. It is a division of K-TEC, Inc.

line of blenders through the viral marketing campaign Will It Blend? The groundswell spread marketing messages through

Digg Digg, stylized in lowercase as digg, is an American news aggregator with a curated front page, aiming to select stories specifically for the Internet audience such as science, trending political issues, and viral Internet issues. It was launch ...

and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

with a small budget and little marketing experience. Other companies have been able to listen to and talk with the groundswell by building their own

online communities An online community, also called an internet community or web community, is a community whose members interact with each other primarily via the Internet. Members of the community usually share common interests. For many, online communities may fe ...

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

create
beinggirl.com
to introduce girls to P&G feminine care products. The community approach worked because the company could reach girls with information that might seem embarrassing or sensitive in a traditional marketing campaign.

Risks

Features of particular industries or companies can make direct customer engagement more difficult. For instance, some companies must work within industry regulations, national or multinational corporations must balance corporate and local engagement, and other companies must find ways to engage with customers on time-sensitive issues.

Reception

Kevin Allison of the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' praised the book for its focus on

Web analytics Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of web data to understand and optimize web usage. Web analytics is not just a process for measuring web traffic but can be used as a tool for business and market research and ...

: "'' roundswell' is not so much a manifesto or a dissection of online culture as it is a how-to manual for executives and mid-level managers trying to navigate this fast-changing and often confusing environment." The book won the American Marketing Association Foundation’s Berry-AMA Book Prize for best marketing book of 2009. It was also listed by: * Amazon, as one of the Top 10 Business & Investing Books of 2008 *CIO Insight, as one of the Top 10 Business-Tech Books of 2008 and one of 10 Insightful Web 2.0 Books *''Fortune'' as Magazine as one of the 3 best Web books of 2008 *''Advertising Age'' as number 3 of 10 Books You Should Have Read *''BusinessWeek'' as one of the Best Innovation & Design Books of 2008 *"strategy+business" as one of the Best Business Books 2008 and “Top Shelf” in Marketing

References

External links

*{{Cite podcast , url = http://www.businessweek.com/mediacenter/podcasts/innovation/innovation_05_27_08.htm , title = The Social Media Groundswell , website = businessweek.com , publisher = Bloomberg Businessweek , host = Charlene Li , date = May 27, 2008 , time = 18:44:22 EDT , accessdate = March 28, 2012 *Bernoff, J.; Li, C. (2008)
Harnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Web
''MIT Sloan Management Review'', 3(49).
Josh Bernoff
at Without Bullshit
Charlene Li
2008 non-fiction books Marketing books Books about the Internet Social media