The Idea in Brief
The rise of social media makes it more important than ever to get the branding fundamentals right.
Companies that succeed in this environment judiciously revise the marketing playbook rather than rewriting it, and exploit social media opportunities while keeping an unwavering focus on meeting customers’ needs.
Brands should use new media to deliver on four basics: offering and communicating a clear customer promise; building trust by delivering on it; continually improving the promise; and innovating beyond the familiar.
As they experiment with social media, companies should use them to gain customer insights rather than to sell; capitalize on the media’s speed and reach while protecting the brand’s reputation; and carefully follow the unwritten rules of customer engagement online.
As usual, marketers are turning hype into hyperventilation. This time, it’s about the supposed end of marketing as we know it, thanks to the rise of social media and the shift of power to consumers. But it’s wrong to think we’re entering a world in which traditional marketing activities, and brands themselves, will become irrelevant. In fact, the opposite is true. Social media make it more urgent than ever that companies get the basics right, developing and reliably delivering on a compelling brand promise.
