Markets are Conversations

The main premise of The Cluetrain Manifesto, a marketing polemic (among other things) by Christopher Locke, Rich Levine, David Wienberger, and Doc Searls is that at their core, markets are conversations.  The authors contend that corporate culture in the postindustrial age has done all in its power to destroy the conversation.  Marketing/PR people represent the embodiment of the corporation sucking the lifeblood out of conversation and tirelessly working to keep everything monotone on a common theme or position.

The stuff of corporate speak is indeed lots of nonsense, and it’s refreshing to hear that reinforced by those who are on the inside of it.  The manifesto essentially discusses how this old model of corporate speak will not be able to survive in the Internet age.  Press releases, press conferences, flyers, one-pages, etc. don’t ever provide real information.  For that, people can go on the Internet and read review, talk to other customers, get hard data, etc.  

This point is well taken.  I see this a lot today between companies that have really embraced the conversational method of interaction with customers and those that are still clinging to the old world model.  Lee LeFever of Common Craft talks a lot about “lightweight” business models, and I think this applies quite nicely here--as it describe the difference between new and old marketing strategies. 

Lightweight marketing explains things in helpful ways, listen to people, and proactively engages.  Most importantly, the conversation always continues.  Lightweight companies not only allow customers to easily evaluate products and services, but also act on those suggestions.  It’s a type of democratic process that ultimately leads to be best product or service for everyone.  Companies are lightweight because they can respond and adapt with relative ease. 

Lots of old world mega corporations are doing everything they can to adapt to the lightweight model, but this is difficult for companies that have revenues higher than the GPD of many smaller nations.  Starbucks now seeks out the advise from customers in online forums, online communities, and old school reaching out and asking directly.  This has led to some nice improvement at Starbucks.  Other companies are using online communities in similar ways: to get valuable feedback and to engage with the customer.

How does this relate to campaigns?

Well, everyone is still figuring that out, but I think it’s safe to say that lightweight campaigns will be more successful from this point forward.  Campaigns that can quickly and genuinely react to the public will trump those that require top-down approval for every communication.  In short, deputize the right people and the right amount of people to speak for the campaign and let them go to task.  Furthermore, encourage the public to discuss the candidate and the issues, regardless of what they say.  Inevitably this leads to more trust and a better feeling about the campaign—that supposedly will help lead to success.