2008 TRIBALIZATION OF

BUSINESS STUDY

HOW TO ACHIEVE
TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE
THROUGH COMMUNITIES AND
SOCIAL NETWORKS

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A STUDY PRODUCED BY:

Deloitte (www.deloitte.com)
Beeline Labs (www.beelinelabs.com)
Society for New Communications Research (
www.sncr.org)

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OVERVIEW:

FIRST ACT:
UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS AT WORK WITHIN
COMMUNITIES

SECOND ACT:
A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

THIRD ACT:
THE MAJOR TAKEAWAYS FROM THE STUDY

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 FIRST ACT:
UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS AT WORK WITHIN
COMMUNITIES

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WHAT’S THIS TRIBAL THING ALL ABOUT?

TRIBALISM IS THE VERY FIRST SOCIAL SYSTEM THAT

HUMAN BEINGS EVER LIVED IN, AND IT HAS LASTED
MUCH LONGER THAN ANY OTHER KIND OF SOCIETY
TO DATE.
(WIKIPEDIA)

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THE MOTIVATIONS ALLOWING THIS TO WORK…

PEOPLE WANT TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE

PEOPLE WANT TO HELP AND BE HELPED

PEOPLE OPERATE EITHER IN A SOCIAL FRAMEWORK

OR A MARKET FRAMEWORK

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UNDERSTANDING THE DRIVING FORCES OF
COMMUNITIES
THE MORE CONTENT YOU HAVE THE MORE MEMBERS YOU WILL
GET.

THE MORE MEMBERS YOU HAVE THE MORE CONTENT YOU WILL
GET.

THE BETTER YOU MATCH CONTENT AND MEMBERS TO MEMBER

PROFILES THE MORE MEMBERS AND CONTENT YOU WILL GET.

THE EASIER IT IS TO DO TRANSACTIONS THE MORE MEMBERS YOU

WILL ATTRACT.

THOSE PILLARS CREATE THE DYNAMICS OF

INCREASING RETURNS WHICH HELP COMMUNITIES
DELIVER GAME CHANGING RESULTS
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 SECOND ACT:
A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

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TOP USAGE SCENARIOS:

Customer service
Idea generation
Co-innovation
Amplifying Word of Mouth
New Product Development

Reputation management Product testing

CANARY IN THE COALMIN
Market research Developer relations
Public relations
LONG TAIL SALES
Employee communications
General Marketing

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OP BUSINESS OBJECTIVES:

Reduce market research costs

Bring outside ideas into the organization faste

Generate word of mouth

Improve PR effectiveness

Increase customer loyalty

Reduce customer support cost
Decrease customer acquisition cost

Increase brand awareness

Increase new product success ratios

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WHO’S IN CHARGE?

Sales
Employee communications Product development

MARKETING IT
Public Relations R&D

Finance Customer service

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DISCONNECT:
Not in support of any goal…
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URING PROGRESS AND SUCCESS – QUALITATIVE

Tonality Software downloads

Sustainability engagement

Sentiment Activity levels

Participation rate Impact on sales
Impact on cost Growth Amount of learning
Anecdotal stories

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Could lead to premature
shutdown of community 16
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 THIRD ACT:
THE MAJOR TAKEAWAYS FROM THE STUDY

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TAKEAWAY #1:
COMMUNITIES ARE ABOUT DELIVERING GAME-
CHANGING RESULTS

INCREASE REVENUE PER

COMMUNITIES CAN
CUSTOMER DRAMATICALLY – I.E., 50%
INCREASE PRODUCT
COMMUNITIES WILL
INTRODUCTION SUCCESS RATIOS
COMMUNITIES AMPLIFY EVERYTHING YOU DO –

INCREASING EFFECTIVENESS AND DECREASING COSTS

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TAKEAWAY #2:
THE RISE OF THE CMO 2.0?

COMMUNITIES SHOULD BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE

CMO’S TOOLSET
(BUT FOR MANY LARGE COMPANIES – THERE IS AN UNDER-
INVESTMENT AND SCALE PROBLEM)

COMMUNITIES SHOULD EVOLVE THE ROLE OF THE

CMO INTO
CHIEF COMMUNITY OFFICER
(BUT THAT WILL REQUIRE DRASTIC CHANGES IN ATTITUDE AND
APPROACH TO MARKETING)

TRANSFORM
IF DONE PROPERLY, COMMUNITIES WILL
THE WAY MARKETING WORKS
(REDUCED COSTS, IMPROVED EFFECTIVENESS, NEW OPPORTUNITIES)
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TAKEAWAY #3:
THE NEED FOR NEW MANAGEMENT THINKING

MISMATCH BETWEEN COMMUNITY GOALS AND

ASSOCIATED INVESTMENTS

MAJOR GAPS BETWEEN COMMUNITY GOALS AND WHAT

IS BEING MEASURED

COMMUNITIES HAVE TO COMBINE WITH MAJOR

TALENT INITIATIVES
COMMUNITIES WILL TRANSFORM MOST
BUSINESS PROCESSES
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TAKEAWAY #3.5:
THE WORST PRACTICES ENJOY WIDE ADOPTION

THE BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME (AGAIN)

FALLACY

THE LET’S KEEP IT SMALL SO IT DOESN’T MOVE

THE NEEDLE PHENOMENON
THE NOT INVENTED HERE SYNDROME

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QUESTIONS?

Contacts:

Francois Gossieaux, Beeline Labs:

francois@beelinelabs.com

Jen McClure, Society for New Communications Research:

jmcclure@sncr.org

Ed Moran, Deloitte:
emoran@deloitte.com

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