Outside in is perhaps the best pair of words to express that you are looking at something from a different perspective. It is a very short way of suggesting that the view is coming from a different direction. The words are being used currently in a number of different and interesting ways.
It was Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, who proclaimed that the customer is the boss. It’s certainly good practice as set out in the Cre8tive Flow Blog on Marketing Right Now. Unfortunately a number of companies seem opposed to the idea. Here are some reasons why:
Was your pet peeve in that list? Why not add your view in the comments.
Related: Top 5 reasons why “The Customer Is Always Right” is wrong
As any big corporation knows, some will automatically question their motives. Wal-Mart is perhaps the prime example of this. Even though a corporation may be attempting to apply the highest standards of ethics, inevitably mistakes may occur. Individual managers within a large corporation may look to further their own careers by taking decisions which might not be aligned with corporate policies. Even though a corporation may proclaim a slogan of, “Do No Evil“, that slogan may not be applied by every individual working for the corporation. The situation is even worse in a public corporation, where the bottom line results in any quarter must satisfy the investing public.
For whatever reason, Google seems to be running into a number of problem situations of this type. Andy Beard points to one of these in his post, “Google Reputation Management Disaster With Open Social“. As he mentions, there have been a number of reputation management and trademark problems. Google is now looking at a new “Open Social” platform for social media web developers. The big problem is that Google don’t own the trademark, or even a lot of the concept behind it, and they certainly don’t own their own SERPs (search engine results pages). Although he is expressing his own opinion, there is some element of truth in the following:
Google’s Idea of “Open”
Google’s whole idea of “open” is to have the data available to them to index.
- They don’t really care about privacy
- They don’t care about copyright
- They just want access to all your information
Sometime in the future, Google will have control of how your personal profile is represented online, and in many ways how it is portrayed.
If big corporations wish to avoid that ugly epithet, they must work hard to ensure individuals feel their rights are being fully acknowledged and respected. Given that so much personal data is now available on the Internet, a company like Google needs to work even harder than most to maintain a good reputation in the community.
Related:
Wal-Mart – The Big Ugly (UPDATED)
For Wal-Mart, PR = Public Revelations
Thanks to Andy Beard for Sphinning this.
Wal-mart has changed its mindset. Andy Sernovitz sees it as a landmark moment for consumer empowerment and word of mouth. Whichever way you look at it, something very dramatic has happened.
A Mindset can put blinkers on how you see the world. The Internet is having such a disruptive effect on societies, economies and markets that it is important to be aware of all the implications. To be highly effective now it is important to have an Internet Mindset. That involves many factors but one of the most important is to realize that power has shifted from entities like agencies and companies to individuals.
Many will remember that Wal-mart clearly showed its pre-Internet mindset when its PR consultant, Edelman, encouraged the use of blogs that appeared to be created by members of the general public. These were supposed to show Wal-mart in a good light and attempt to reverse some of the adverse publicity that Wal-mart gets from time to time. When the truth came out that these were in fact Wal-mart blogs, Edelman had to do some fast back-pedalling but the damage was done.
Now it would appear that Wal-mart has seen the light. The blinkers have been removed. It is demonstrating that, in the places that matter, an Internet Mindset prevails. Wal-mart has opened up a new website, walmart.com, that actively encourages true dialogue with consumers. After all, you can either be the object of discussion or take part in the discussion. Wal-mart is now providing the infrastructure to support the discussion.
Hopefully when other entities see that even the mightiest acknowledge the new order of things with the Internet, they too will abandon coercive power plays. They are becoming less and less effective and may even blow up in the faces of the perpetrators. The message is clear: Go with the (Internet) Flow!
Related:
For Wal-Mart, PR = Public Revelations
Do You Have An Internet Mindset?
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