Bloggers, social networkers and the new communication reality

Why propaganda and manipulation do not work?

Even though nowadays we talk about communication more in a business sense in Europe now and then it is necessary to get back to the origins. What if free communication is prohibited?

In Bulgaria now we are observing horrible antidemocratic processes where the government is disregarding the mass protests against it and is manipulating the media to confuse the masses. As much as we should be alarmed by the old communistic practices coming back to life there is hope. And in the same time a warning to everybody who decided to control the masses again.

We observe that Bulgarians use heavily the social networks to form communities, share causes and news and organize activities, using hash tags, informing and inspiring each other. In Bulgaria I have been witness to anti-governmental protests before and I have seen the need for a leader who organizes the masses. This is not the case anymore.

Even though no one can deny that leaders of opinions will always lead the public now there is a new way for the true leaders to come ahead. Before you needed to be a public figure. Today you need good hash tags.

Even though it should present the ultimate weapon against censure it has its upsides and downsides. It also allows for mass manipulation by experienced communicators. It also allows literally everybody to say their opinion and to be honest I believe that there are many opinions that should never become public. The reason is that in turbulent times the public might be more perceptive to more radical ideas which could dangerously lead to the country or the mass opinion being defined by the lowest class.

However, more importantly, politicians just like every business around the Globe should acknowledge that the time has come to listen to the public. As there is no way to stop the development of Internet communities and movements without totally abandoning the principles of democracy. The truth is that politicians have just been too slow realizing the grown power of the people. They are still living in times where they disseminated information. But today it is the time where information almost disseminates itself.

The real question which both businesses and politicians should ask themselves is:

Is it still possible to disregard the voice of the public and what will it cost us?

The answer is pretty simple: It will cost you everything. For a business it will be a slow but sure death being attacked by displeased consumers. Just check out what is happening around the world with Russian vodka. For a government it will mean loss of reputation, international sanctions and discredited image of the country. Which will surely lead to fewer tourists, fewer contracts, etc.

So the logic question would be: Is it worth it to disregard the public?

The answer is again very simple. As long as there are bloggers, opinion leaders and social networkers it will mean your failure not to listen to the public. Welcome to the new reality.

Global or local marketing strategy?

 

Today globalization means much more than travelling or drinking Cola all around the world. For companies it means a series of urgent questions and strategic decisions which are always due yesterday. A firm has generally few options – to operate locally while competing with local and global competitors, to operate globally while competing with global and local competitors, and to operate globally with localized strategies, thus to compete with global and local competitors as a local entity with the advantage of being a global company.

Each of these strategies makes sense in a certain context. Operating locally is mostly possible when we talk about small companies as with a company’s expansion its market necessarily also expands. However, there are several pluses which small companies should take advantage of. Firstly, it is fairly easy to network, create and manage strong relations with your local community. This way one can ensure loyalty and support for the business. Secondly, engaging in CSR is easy and effective. It is also incredibly visible within the community. Last but not least, one could profit from developing unique partnerships with local suppliers and other companies creating a desirable or protective business climate in the area. It is important to remember that investing in a community gives you some negotiated rights but it also gives you possibilities to control and develop your business environment.

Usually it is advised that strong and established global brands follow a global strategy. That means that a unified marketing strategy with minimal adjustments as language or other small details important at local level is implemented. Examples here are brands as Coca Cola, Harley Davidson, etc. Normally those brands have already been heavily marketed on both established and new markets so their arrival is anticipated and all values attributed to them are incorporated in consumer minds.

As great as that sounds it does have its downsides. Cultural differences, rivalry between countries or religious differences can trigger a market failure for a product marketed in such a way. On top of that one should always be on the watch for anti-globalists as their voice can be pretty loud and their arguments loaded with tragic emotion do affect many consumers and communities. Once again we could take Coca Cola as an example suffering in Asia from its way-too-American branding. The anti-American movement in many of those countries turned a few years ago into a campaign against all American products. Brands like Coca Cola were the main target.

Furthermore, global brands are attributed descriptions as impersonal, money-machines, mass production garbage, killers of culture and local business, invaders, etc.

So one could ask oneself – why market globally?

Just as mentioned above the globalization of a brand makes sense in certain cases. Marketers calculate expected profits and losses in connection to different strategies and if it turns out that losses are not expected to be major or are predicted to present a lesser cost than localizing the global strategy, it is a rational choice to go for global.

However, such a choice is quite more complicated. It also depends on what type of a product or service we offer and what are the standards in the countries where it will be marketed. Some products as toothpaste are generally expected to have similar qualities all around the world and can therefore be marketed globally with almost no necessary modifications. However, marketing something like cigarettes or alcohol which is a subject of a number or local regulations or something like lingerie the commercial of which might simply be banned in some countries as a result of moral censure presents us with a challenge. It requires consideration of a long list of factors highlighted by a thorough research of different prospect markets. That is what is called localized strategy.

In such a case a brand is built around a tight unbendable value core around which the product/service is shaped to meet market needs and requirements. Corporate policy though focuses not only on selling its product but on being accepted by local communities. That is necessary especially in controversial markets but is always advisable.

Allowing your branches to work semi-independently strategy-wise allows for local adjustments and for true involvement with the local community. Such a strategy which incorporates CSR elements benefitting local communities and developing a dialogue with them helps counteract the negative perceptions in connection to being a global brand and creates an environment of trust and mutual support. Needless to say, that will greatly affect sales.

However, there are also some cases where such a global – or multi-branch – company does not have a choice but to allow for independency and local policy for their branches. Such a case I have seen. Factors there were completely different core competences of employees, completely different customer base, different levels of popularity of company name in the two locations, different practices, different expectations and requirements of market based on some cultural differences, and so on. Incredibly enough, the goal was maximal unification – instead of maximum profit or efficiency. The result, not so incredibly, was a struggling local branch.

That is why making a decision concerning your global strategy should be based on thorough research and several major considerations:

1. What are the pluses and minuses of marketing globally?

2. What are the pluses and minuses of marketing locally?

3. What are the expectations of our main consumer base?

4. What are the needs and expectations of our prospect consumers?

5. Is our product/service replicable or it will be modified when entering the new markets?

6. What characterizes the new markets?

7. Who are our competitors? Is it at all worth it to enter certain market?

8. Are there strong local communities? Should we approach them? How?

9. Does our advertising need modification?

10. Are there some religious, cultural or other rules we should respect?

11. How will entering the new market affect our established market and our brand?

Those are just some general concerns which will likely have to be modified in accordance with your specific business, product, and of course market. The main point is that in marketing there are no simple decisions as the right decisions are based on facts, data, and prognoses. 

That is why no matter the size of your company or the budget you have, do yourself a favor and spend as much as needed on strategy. Otherwise you risk spending more on failed strategy.

DIDI