14 Steps to a

Connected

Brand

by Steve Massi

A spider web?

• The spider web

– Its silk has a tensile strength comparable to high grade steel

– Is highly ductile, able to stretch up to 1.4x relaxed length without breaking

– Its unique mechanical properties allow it to be strong yet flexible, adapt to its environment, and retain it’s strength even when threads are broken

• How can today’s brands imitate the spider web

– Be flexible

– Be agile

– Share responsibility

– Adapt to change and the environment

– Enable individual strength

– Yet stay connected

A spider web and brand?

Do Connected Brands make economic sense?

Does this model work?

• According to McKinsey*, fully networked brands see measurable business benefits:

– Market share gains

– Improved operating margins compared to competitors

– Market leadership

*McKinsey: The rise of the networked enterprise, Dec/2010

Does this model work?

• And benefit multiple stakeholders*:

– Employee benefits saw a 31% mean improvement

– Customer benefits saw a 24% mean improvement

– Partner benefits saw a 27% mean improvement

*McKinsey: The rise of the networked enterprise, Dec/2010

Does this model work?

• Increasing social capital facilitates value creation*:

– The three dimensions of social capital assessed

• Social interaction

• Trustworthiness

• Shared vision

– “Had significant effects, directly or indirectly, on resource exchange and combination.”

– “Also, the extent of resource exchange and combination was associated with product innovation.”

*Social Capital and Value Creation: The Role of Intrafirm Networks, Wenpin Tsai; Sumantra Ghoshal, The Academy of Management Journal

What must brands do to become connected?

1. Integrate the use of Web 2.0 tools and technologies into employees’ day-to-day work activities

2. Continue to drive adoption and usage

3. Break down the barriers to organizational change

4. Apply Web 2.0 technologies to interactions with customers, business partners and employees

Four broad action steps*

*McKinsey: The rise of the networked enterprise, Dec/2010

5. Make sure the organization is aligned around its Vision, purpose, values and metrics

– Otherwise, how will you know where you’re going, how you’ll get there, and that you’re on the right path?

6. Establish guidelines for engagement

– Particularly relevant for social technologies

Specific steps to ensure success

7. Understand goals and challenges

– Increase access to and sharing of knowledge

– Create more tacit interactions

– Stretch to explore co-creation opportunities

8. Identify tools and deploy training

– These include sharing, collaboration and social networks

Specific steps to ensure success

9. Identify key (or rollout) contributors, leaders and engagers

10. Deploy people skills training

– Collaboration skills, language and behaviors

11. Collaborate to develop content and engagement strategies

Additional steps to ensure success

12. Collaborate for content creation, curation and aggregation

13. Identify challenges for specific innovation engagements

14. Measure against defined benchmarks and metrics

Additional steps to ensure success

Implications for brands

• The Connected Brand must be guided by Vision and agreement on goals

• A framework can be set with guidelines for engagement

• Optimizing tools and usage requires training

• People drive connectivity and collaboration through your stakeholder relationships, make sure they are equipped

Thanks

Please feel free to share or contact me

•Steve Massi•steve@stevemassi.com• linkedin.com/in/stevemassi•twitter.com/stevemassi•stevemassi.com