My clients have heard me talk about culture being an organization's competition (I even blogged about this a few days ago) and this competition is only going to become more impactful as consumer skepticism of company advertising/promotion increases. This increase change was highlighted in a recent McKinsey article I was looking through. The article 'A new way to measure word-of- mouth marketing' by Jacques Bughin, Jonathan Doogan, and Ole Jørgen Vetvik shows yet again the increasing impact your company culture will be having on consumers 'buying' decisions and brand loyalty. As the authors point out...

My clients have heard me talk about culture being an organization's competition (I even blogged about this a few days ago) and this competition is only going to become more impactful as consumer skepticism of company advertising/promotion increases. This increase change was highlighted in a recent McKinsey article I was looking
through. The article 'A new way to measure word-of- mouth marketing' by Jacques Bughin, Jonathan Doogan, and Ole Jørgen Vetvik, shows yet again the increasing impact your company culture will be having on consumers
'buying' decisions and brand loyalty.

As the authors point out"The sheer volume of information available today has dramatically altered the balance of power between companies and consumers. As consumers have become overloaded, they have become increasingly skeptical about traditional company-driven advertising and marketing and increasingly prefer to make purchasing decisions largely independent of what companies tell them about products."

This increasing trend of consumers finding their own information about your products and services, is bringing them into contact with people who are using or experiencing your 'product.' Not in a lab, or focus group or pilot scheme, but in their 'real world.' Not only does you product or service need to do what you say it will, again and again, the experience of getting and keeping your 'product' needs to match the promises you make. Anywhere in the world!

Earlier this year, user feedback and blog sourced information took the place of direct product advertising/sales meetings, as the main driver for my own company choosing a new piece of presentation software. Conversations with users in Europe was influencing our decision to buy the software in New Zealand. The price of the software app NZ$350.

Now this is not a major purchasing decision, one where you'd expect/demand talking with current users of a system/product as part of 'due diligence.' Those conversations are nothing new, but they are typically business to business. This increasing trend though is about consumers talking with consumers, discussing experiences of products/services costing anywhere from $10 upwards

With the increasing ease of potential customers 'talking' with raving fans and diehard detractors from around the world, leaders need to understand what it takes to have workplace cultures that enable organizations to be experienced as being Glocal© . Having a global presence while adapting to local markets. A key step to take is unlocking the power of cultures and ensuring the cultures in your workplace are not becoming your competitors in the market place.

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