Coherence
Posted by Michael Walsh (Check me out!) on June 26th, 2008
Tagged as: Social Media
The word of the week in my neck of the woods is coherence:
Dictionary.com gives the definition as:
Coherence (co·her·ence)
Pronunciation [koh-heer-uhns]
noun
1. the act or state of cohering; cohesion.
2. logical interconnection; overall sense or understandability.
3. congruity; consistency.
4. Physics, Optics. (of waves) the state of being coherent.
5. Linguistics. the property of unity in a written text or a segment of spoken discourse that stems from the links among its underlying ideas and from the logical organization and development of its thematic content.
It’s the second and third definitions I’m interested in.
This week - in reality it happens every week - I stumbled across a number of incidences within my jurisdiction where people in positions that count (I’m talking VP marcoms worldwide, Head of Digital Marketing and the list goes on) have proved that while they are ultimately responsible for the web strategies and social initiatives of their respective companies, the day-to-day complexities and overwhelming commitments they have are asked to deal with means that their hands are tied.
In one case in particular, one of them wrote a lengthy blog article about the latest social technologies and then responded to a comment asking when his company - the world’s #1 pasta company - was to adopt social media with a friendly, “let it go”.
My question is why wouldn’t a company like that want to start using social media?
On the other side of the coin, my own little one-way run-in with Publicis just goes to show that many professionals and companies who market themselves as conversation catalysts (oxymoron intended) are simply not firing on all cylinders.
So why is this?
How is it possible that the message isn’t flowing through the corridors of power 1.0?
The answer I believe lies in coherency. If your company adopts an eco-friendly approach, you can’t do it with just the packaging and expect people to buy into it. Likewise that “please do not print this” message at the bottom of emails convinces no-one that you’re on a mission to save the planet.
Coherency means adopting it throughout the business, so that the company wholly adopts the attitude and its customers can feel it.
And with social media, it gets worse because whereas we instinctively know when we’re harming/saving the planet, it’s a damned site harder to know when we’re being truly social (meant as an effective approach to social media that brings ROI to the company and benefits to the customers), which makes it a lot easier to sell as for many (buyers and sellers), it’s snake oil.
I guess now that SM has started to go mainstream, it’ll be slowly diluted down and squeezed of every ounce of credibility. But just like HannanCustoms takes the common bicycle and does something incredible, there will always be a place in social media for true coherence.
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Valeria Maltoni wrote:
Michael:
Marketing has changed. This resistance we are encountering is fundamentally fear of the unknown.
Those individuals you meet who get it are being asked to deal with the way things were as a means to paralyze an otherwise mobilized force. Alas, there is no messaging one’s way out of a paradigm shift. Listening and marketing start on the inside.
The cry that “we don’t trust” what would happen if we opened the doors of information and collaboration to customers and employees is really “we can’t predict,” “we can’t control.” There is no “cure.” Coherence and integrity matter.
Michael wrote:
Hi Valeria,
My point here is that I’m seeing numerous cases of all talk and no trousers, principally from agencies who should know better, but occasionally from marketing people on the inside too.
One of the cornerstones of the Groundswell approach is to ignore the technology and focus on customers. Technology - or conversations about technology - appear to be getting in the way of any serious SN execution. Can’t see the woods for the trees…
The way I see it people in high offices have thin-sliced their revenue charts to the point where they must be seeing a change in buying patterns. If they haven’t yet then shareholders should start worrying.
The paradigm shift you mention, in layman’s terms, is when the ground shifts shifts beneath your feet. Still didn’t notice?
Once they (the market) have your attention, isn’t it wise to fight fire with fire (for want of a better term)?
If that’s the case - and I firmly believe it is - you can’t do it superficially: any slip in your approach (like Publicis, or my friend at the food multinational) inevitably seeps into your core values and defeats the whole purpose of your efforts.
You’re right. Coherence and integrity (are all that) matter.