Ciceron Blog Archives

The Missing Third Dimension: Reality

What’s missing from most web sites is that third dimension: reality. Reality isn’t created within the hallowed walls of corporate marketing departments or their meritorious agencies (thank you very much). Traditional marketing professionals are in the business of presenting a desired view of reality. In fact, more often than not, we've been asked not to present reality at all. Reality is blemished. Reality is awkward. Reality accidentally gives public presentations with its fly down.

But reality sells. I know it personally. When I review our own web site's statistics each month, I notice the same thing time and time again. The pages we provide for our staff get the greatest traffic. Visitors aren’t nearly as interested in what we do as who does the work. They spend three times as much time reading about our people than our services.

The people at Ciceron are our third dimension. The human element of Ciceron provides the value and meaning behind the words and graphics of our site.

As marketers, how do we tap that third dimension? I believe that there needs to be an area of each and every web site that’s like a coffee shop. A successful coffee shop isn’t about the quality of its coffee. Rather, the most successful coffee shops are those which are designed to enhance the experience of drinking coffee with others. The brand essence is the congregation of customers not the coffee that's being poured.

Like a good coffee shop, a successful web site is one in which those who visit participate and contribute to the overall experience. They provide content in the form of product reviews, commentary, pictures, video, conversation, and other evidence that the brand is alive with real people doing real things.

This content is officially called "User Generated Content". The concept is on fire in marketing circles these days because user content has proven to be most successful in grabbing attention and loyalty from web visitors. User generated content provides a reality that marketing departments can’t provide or honestly emulate.

Think of it this way: Amazon doesn't sell books, book reviewers like you do. The internet brings like-minded people together with an unprecedented efficiency. We have unlimited opportunities to quickly, easily, and anonymously share thoughts, ideas, and opinions on topics we are passionate about, from musicians to worldly causes to high-end manufacturing equipment. The internet makes it easy to tell the rest of the world what we think without having to reveal much about who or what we are. That's why we freely generate content.

In a previous article, we spoke of the emerging Shadow Markets that each and every one of you competes within everyday. These markets are undeniably real, undeniably measurable, and ultimately attainable. People -- whether fickle B2C or discriminating B2B customers -- will dodge and weave all over creation to find truth. Make it easy for them. Provide them the tools to connect and communicate. Strengthen your market position not just by owning the products and services you provide but the environment in which those offerings are considered too.

How do you start? There are many good resources available, and on May 24th Ciceron is hosting a half-day seminar to get you jump-started. It's called "The New Shadow Markets: Blogs, Online Communities, and Word of Mouth Marketing Campaigns". We'll explore how to find, participate, and thrive in these markets armed with rules of etiquette, measurements tools, and concepts that work. Please consider attending--more information and registration is available at www.ciceron.com/seminar.