At Weber Shandwick, we’ve been warning companies about badvocacy as long as we’ve been encouraging them to tap into the power of advocacy. Badvocacy is simply the act of criticizing companies, brands or products and it’s becoming rampant as social media accelerates (as my mother recently gleefully declared after dealing with a customer service injustice, “You don’t even need to picket the store anymore, you just go on the Internet!”). Highlighting this trend, the Society for New Communications Research recently released the results of a survey sponsored by Nuance Communications that shows that 59 percent of active Internet users use social media to vent about a customer care experience. That’s a lot of venting.
Lest companies make the mistake of shrugging off online critics or dismissing social media as a valid communications channel, the study also finds that the majority of online consumers are using the Internet to research companies’ customer care reputations before making the purchase (72 percent) and choose companies or brands based on others’ experiences they read about online (74 percent). Most consumers (81 percent) believe that blogs, discussion forums and online ratings systems give consumers a greater voice (our own research supports this newfound sense of empowerment: more than half of online respondents say they have more power to influence company success or failure today than ever before).
So even if customers aren’t writing about negative experiences, they’re reading about, and heeding, the experiences of others. Companies can’t hide from badvocacy – they need to recognize that the function of customer service has been forever changed. They need to respond to situations in new and inventive ways that minimize the risk of an unhappy customer escalating his or her problems to the world.
Looking forward to the full report from SNCR and Nuance due out later this year.
My colleague David Krejci has an internal social media newsletter that I really enjoy. It is called Your New Times and I always learn from it. This week’s edition focused on something called Astroturfing which is defined as fake buzz. The article in the newsletter written by “stingray” is about how people fake comments or create controversies on YouTube, Facebook and other sites to make them look like they have lots of friends or visitors or detractors. Using stingray’s definition — Astroturfing is when a public relations campaign seeks to create the impression of spontaneous, grassroots behavior (hence the reference to the artificial grass Astroturf). Astroturfing is a prime example of what we call badvocacy.
I wonder how it can be stopped or found out. If anyone knows, please let me know. I am always interested in how to combat badvocacy.
I was in a meeting on the West coast this week. The topic was advocacy (why are you not surprised?). When the question was posed.
OK, not exactly in the way this blog post’s title suggests. And, no, there was no rousing Cole Porter-styled big-band score you’d expect to go with it. Or any fancy footwork a la Fred Astaire. Just the bland illumination of ubiquitious PowerPoint. And a spilled cup of H20.
The question was pretty straightforward in fact, and you don’t have to be a fan of the American Songbook to appreciate it: When does advocacy really start?
Here’s what was at issue. Is advocacy, as the classic purchase funnel has it, the desired end state a marketer strives to achieve with a customer after she’s been acquired and has experienced the brand? Is it about, then, creating programs that enlist customers to help sell to other ones? So brand loyalty, ambassador and “friends and family” type programs. This was essentially the POV of the questioner, and perhaps represents the view of other veteran marketers as, in effect, this is in large part the way advocacy programs have been created heretofore.
The on-the-other-hand was this. Why not also see advocacy as not solely an end but a means? For spreading postive word-of-mouth and recommendations on the path to purchase. When consumers turn to colleagues, friends and family for information and advice as they form opinions and make decisions about what to buy or not to as the case may be.
This school of thought is rooted in some of the big shifts we’ve seen taking place in communications. How individuals are increasingly looking to each other for advice and recommendations about products, services and brands, and less to traditional institutions and authorities as a result. How they tend to make decisions faster. And how some, who are highly connected to others, are highly influential. In some cases more so than traditional opinion leaders or influentials. Full disclosure: yes, this is our POV at Weber Shandwick, and what we’ve seen in our research and work. But we’re hardly a choir of one here.
So back to the question: When does and should the beguine–that spirited dance (which is what a beguine apparently is according to wikipedia) between brand and consumer–really begin when it comes to advocacy?
You should decide for yourself (naturally). But there’s room enough for both views these days, if not the POV that there’s now a continuum of advocacy activities that are happening from the outset of the purchase cycle, and that we should be seeking to understand and harness. Social networking research makes clear that you don’t have to be a customer to be an effective advocate, just someone whose advice your audience seeks out and trusts. In fact, the most valuable customers are no longer necessarily the ones who buy the most, according to Kumar, Petersen, and Leone. Writing last year in their HBR piece entitled “How Valuable is Word of Mouth?” they showed how consumers who don’t buy much at all can be some of the strongest marketers for your brand.
Others, like Forrester, have observed that the purchase funnel itself is fundamantally broken, and a new marketing model based on engagement is needed. Our views on advocacy and the role it plays–and how harnessing it should start earlier today–are more in line with this kind of thinking.
But perhaps there’s only so much the data can tell us about a topic we know really comes down to passion. And who better than the crafty composer himself to shed some light on the subject.
So in the words of Cole Porter (click here for the full lyrics)…
When they begin
the beguine
it brings back the sound
of music so tender
it brings back a night
of tropical splendor
it brings back a memory of green
And as for the steps that go along with this tricky ryhme, nobody could make it look easier than Fred Astaire. Forget making marketing moves so smoothly. How about just dressing that cool?
Nielsen Online recently released a study that finds that blogger buzz around sustainabilility grew by 50 percent in 2007. Early 2007 buzz was dominated by global warming, but issues such as renewable energy and resource conservation increased.
The study also reports that corporations that greenwash their advertising and PR will quickly turn bloggers into the dreaded Badvocates. Sustainability bloggers’ number one greenwashing discussion topic is “contradictory actions.” As most companies know these days, there is no hiding from Badvocacy, so they need to be sure their messages are consistent with their products and services.
As a follow up to my last post about what it takes to be the world’s top mom blogger, here’s a recent piece from Brandweek about the flip side that caught our attention: what major companies are doing to court social media moms. Featured are Johnson & Johnson’s campbaby.com and P&G’s vocalpoint (pictured above) and the strategies each is pursuing to reach this ultra connected and influential community of advocates.
Be sure to read what Brandweek reports about the 3-day conference J&J recently hosted for 56 influential mothers / bloggers. And check out some of the stats quoted about vocalpoint: that up to a 30% increase in sales is witnessed after the site’s 350,000 members chatter about products on the site or off it. That certainly meets our definition of advocacy!
Want to know what it takes to be a professional advocate online? Check out today’s article (and discussion) about 32-year old Heather Armstrong (pictured above), the hip often outrageous but always influential mom and author of the 59th most popular blog going on the Web: Dooce.com. As the reigning top blogger on all matters parenting and mom, she is one of the new faces of influence today.
Always on the lookout for clues to what makes an advocate truly an advocate, this look into Heather’s life, and the toll it can take, caught our attention. Knowledge, passion, committment, openness, a unique POV and voice, and willingness to flout convention. These qualities and more of a parent advocate, some suprising (like her penchant for vulgarity) some not, are on full display on dooce.com, along with quirky items like a daily photo of her “SuperMutt,” Chuck. See what is outshining the 200,000 plus other parenting bloggers in the world today and generating a whopping 4 million page views a month. Plus advertising from the likes of BMW and Verizon.
Peter Weir, director of “The Truman Show,” commenting on how the 1998 movie starring Jim Carrey predicted the rise of reality television once said: “This was a dangerous film to make because it couldn’t happen. How ironic.” Heather’s story, and bouts with mental illness, need for therapy, lack of privacy, show that it is indeed no cake walk.
Truman, in a quest for freedom, walks off the make-believe set at the end of the movie and into a life (a happier one we hope) out of the 24/7 public eye. How will Heather’s own life-as-movie end online? After seven years of blogging, it’s not clear it will or even has to.
So what’s the priority, creating more advocates for a brand or reducing the number of badvocates?
It surprises some to learn that badvocates have 3x more impact on growth than advocates. Last week Dr Paul Marsden reminded an audience of this at a Weber Shandwick Advocacy event in London. His study at the LSE demonstrated that a 2% reduction in badvocates equated to a 1% increase in growth (you would need to increase advocacy by 7% to achieve the same result). Also interesting is what drives badvocacy. Research indicates that up to 50% of badvocacy is caused through frustration at a company not listening.
So, set up your Ideastorms, Mystarbucksideas and other channels of communication and get listening. It’s an easy way to grow your business!
Here is some interesting evidence that badvocacy exceeds advocacy. If you go to Fortune’s Most Admired Companies section on the Fortune web site, you will find that people post their thoughts on whether the top most admired companies deserve the kudos or not. Fortune asks readers: What do you think of the corporations on Fortune’s top 20 Most Admired Companies list? Should they be in the top 20? Tell us what you think. The best replies will be published here, and possibly in a future story on CNNMoney.com.
As of this writing, there were 156 postings. We did the analysis one week ago when there were 129 comments. Over one-half (54%) of the comments in our analysis about the top 20 most admired companies were negative vs. over one-third (38%) which were positive. The remaining 8% were neutral. The comments are pretty interesting and are certainly a peek into what people think about companies. As our research on advocates and badvocates shows, badvocacy gets spread more frequently.
As an example, here is a positive one about Costco:
“I was a 20 year kid when I started working for Costco. Almost instantly I was looked at as a celebrity in the town I worked. People would stop me on the street and ask me about Costco and tell me about their love of the store. In the eight years I worked there I was wa paid well and given full time employment. I worked in the regional office and learned more about the company then I ever thought I would. I know that they are not perfect and have some improvements to make but they do a good job taking care of their employees despite pressure from Wall Street to limit their compensation. I personally met the CEO. I bought in the company philosophy that the member comes first and I felt good about making sacrifices for company (like time away from my family and not getting everything to make my work life better). Costco is truely an innovative business model that could treat their employees a lot worse but they don’t because they chose not to. Needless to say I drank the Kool-Aid and 4 years away from the company I still shop there every week just to remember how it tastes. If Costco doesn’t deserve to be there no company does.”
Here is a negative one that is referring to recent problems that Southwest Airlines has had with the Federal Aviation Agency about flying planes with safety concerns:
“Southwest + FAA = Not a trusted top 20.”
Badvocacy often rules.
Former VP Al Gore launched its new advertising campaign today. The goal is to enlist 10 million advocates. You can find out more on www.wecansolveit.org. The first of the new ads is available to view. There is a button on the web site with ideas for Taking Action, a true advocacy criterion. When I clicked on the Advocate for Change, there was a host of activities suggested for helping with climate change. They were:
- Writing to elected officials
- Meeting with elected representatives
- Writing an op-ed piece to my local paper
- Letters to the Editor
- Making talk radio work for you
I was particularly intrigued about the advice on calling into a talk radio program and read the pointers on making one’s arguments “advocable” (new word):
- Listen to the show to get an idea of topics addressed and the kind of rapport the host has with callers. Does the host challenge callers and cut them off, or is he or she more likely to invite a diversity of opinions? Don’t be afraid to call shows with typically argumentative hosts. If you present your point in a clear, non-flustered manner, your call will have been a success.
- Write out a couple of clear (and brief!) talking points. Plan on making your point in no more than a few sentences.
- If you think you will be nervous, practice stating your point out-loud or with a friend.
- Try calling early in the show, ideally about five minutes before the show starts.
You will speak to a screener who will ask what you would like to talk about. Keep your point short and avoid going into detail. You might say you are calling to talk about “green energy” or “the importance of good public transportation.”
- When you get on-air, stay focused and calm. State your point in a few clear and short sentences. Just don’t read directly from your notes — listeners can tell.
If the host challenges you or tries to re-direct the conversation, bring listeners back to your central point.
- Avoid sounding flustered, obstinate, or argumentative. Instead, work to come across as calm and authoritative.
Helpful advice on an important advocacy tool. I had also heard Al Gore on the radio last Sunday and was moved by his comments on how he became an advocate after his devastating defeat for the presidency. Gore talked about how he had no where else to go but dust off his old climate change slides and start over. It was remarkable to hear the passion and commitment in his voice. His comments on restoring his life’s direction made me visit their site this morning and read about the solutions they offer on minimizing one’s impact on the environment.
Gore’s advocacy on climate change can fuel change and mobilize people to take action. Advocacy works.
Very interesting data and insights from a new PR Week and PR Newswire survey of 1,231 journalists/bloggers released Monday. I can’t yet figure out what’s more amazing — the number of journalists who see the clear web road ahead, or the number that don’t see the speeding web semi-trailer in the rear-view mirror chasing down their Prius.
Now, I’m a big fan of print media. Wrote for a major daily. Edited my college paper. Even launched a magazine in my younger carefree days. And based on a recent Churchill Club event, I have renewed faith that some print media will continue to thrive — especially the ones that truly engage their audience and represent a community of interest.
At the same time, I’m a big advocate for social media. Which is why a few of the stats surprised me:
* Only 22% are blogging for their publication, and only 19% on their own;
* 38% say they’re asked to do more on the web, but only 13% cite increased competition as the top change driver;
* 70% to 89% rely on web sites, Google searches and direct PR engagement for information — but only 14% are using RSS feeds and only 14-15% tap executive blogs or podcasts as important sources.
Of course, this may reflect that blogging and podcast content is still fairly uneven. Or that some respondents didn’t make hard distinctions between “blog” and “web” content. Or that a generational gap will create big divides in the media world. Whatever the case, it’s evident that PR Week nailed the headline on this one: “State of transition.”
