Building better communities through blogs

Employees at certain companies are blogging about work because their employers view it as good marketing. The idea driving this train is that the brand community becomes stronger. I have a few reservations about this concept.

One, for some companies this could work nearly as promised. Users of the company's products will enjoy the interaction afforded by the blog. What about insurance companies? How many policy holders want to read the thoughts and musings of a claims clerk? An insurance agent? An actuary?

Two, most companies will need to establish guidelines and boundaries. Everybody knows Micro$osft is working on a OS code name Longhorn. What about Longhorn's successor? Or an OS that controls your kitchen appliances? Micro$oft probably is working on those items and more; most of these ideas will never see the light of day. Do you want employees writing about them?

Three, not all these people reading and responding to the blogs are customers. Your competitors absolutely should be reading these items. When will Longhorn be released? Officially, Micro$oft says X. But if an employees writes Y, which is 1 year later than X, then would you as a retailer, the marketing manager at Bob's Generic Computer System, or a project manager at Sun want to know this information? How will your company handle such loss of sensitive information. You cannot reprimand or fire an employee for doing exactly what you said to do.

Four, success is always relative. How do you as a manager know the blog worked? How can you tell if your brand community is stronger?

We will talk about this concept more in our section on Integrated Marketing Communication, IMC, later in the semester. Also, look at the link to the Nike blog. Gawker, which runs the Nike site among others, proves a company can make money in blogging.

Brazil, beef, and the world trade

The following story appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. A Brazilian rancher understands that business practices must change to meet local customs. He also sees that ranching is more than simply selling to the local meat packer. And he is undaunted in his quest to extend his beef sales beyond the local market because he is competing with ranches in Argentina and Australia. These are the two of the top exporters for beef in the world.

Besides the Israeli market, the rancher spotted an American trend; the desire for grass-fed beef. Later in the semester, we will meet a local rancher who also saw this trend.

This is a dead on example of market orientation in action. The rancher collected information, then created and implemented a plan. As you progress through the course try to match the Brazilian rancher's actions to the marketing principles we will discuss and read.

Welcome

This is the official blog for Marketing 3350, section 003, at Texas Tech University. Part of your participation grade will be determined by the quantity and quality of your postings. I encourage you to start threads in addition to posting comments.

Please keep the messages civil. I will delete messages that I perceive as threatening, hostile, or rude.

Your comments should be more than "ditto," or "I agree." Try to think beyond an example, and attempt to explain the example.

Please use the spell checker on the above button bar. Proof your post before publishing it as to avoid grammar errors. Nothing harms a message and affects a messenger more than a poorly written or conceived post.

Changes to the course syllabus will be posted here.

Have fun in class. Remember, the more you contribute, the better the class and the more you will get out of the course.