Though I am still in Chapter three of the new book "Groundswell, winning  in a

world transformed by social technologies" published by Harvard Business Press and Authored by Chharlene Li and Josh Bernoff with Forester research, I had to say a few words about this great manuscript of insightful information.

Since I took the helm of CNP Integrations as CEO and we decided to go down the path of supporting all of the technologies discussed in this book and after reading Paul Greenberg's CRM at the speed of light I have been attracted to books filled with statistics. Mostly because I have to justify what we are doing and investing to my board. Well... Groundswellmaps out the Social Technology spectrum better than any other book I have found since it has not only the statistical foundations to quantify this magnificent transformation in our culture and how we communicate but it identifies how anyone with a business can use these tools to create a direct and honest communication link with their customers. I emphasize honest because while this creates significant cost savings for connecting with your customers they can be brutally honest in return. So "that which does not kill us makes us stronger" can often be a common mantra when embarking on social networking as part of your communication strategy. However the feedback you receive could save you a ton of money by providing valuable insight into how you can improve your products and services with the least amount of investment.  

There are some great simple graphs that illustrate the global use and impact of social networking. It explains how business owners should approach social networking, how it changes relationships and a good overview of how these technologies work.

Though it covers stuff we have been entrenched in for years, I hope that all of our customer read this since it will make my job a lot easier. Much of the discoveries phase in each of our new customer relationships involve making sure that we are all understanding the technologies we are implementing or integrations. I think Groundswell will be my first recommendation to customers that want to create vibrant social networks.

One of our best customers Fred Friendly Seminars (www.fredfriendly.org) I met at a workshop with Paul Greenberg in NY city about CRM and Social Networking Web 2.0. What helped us really move forward quickly with this project was that we did not have to get them up to speed on the technologies only how to redefine their model on to the web and train them on how to use some of the tools.

An old friend use to tell me to "Train your customers well" and while this may seem to be a bit of arrogant, it is really true. The better your customers understand what you do and how you do it the more you can offer them and the greater value they can get from your services. Do not get me wrong since this works both ways in that you really have to understand your customers if you are going to give then what they need and build trust and loyalty in return.

With that said if you are planning to embark on a social networking community web site or start using some of the social technologies as part of your communication strategy you should get "Groundswell".

It is a must have for your knowledgebase!

CN