Highlands and Islands Enterprise International Marketing and Web 2.0 Author: Alan Stevenson and Dr. Jim Hamill March, 2009

Welcome This Highlands and Islands Enterprise seminar has been developed to help you take advantage of the opportunities for internationalisation presented by ICT and the Internet - from a ‘customer led’ perspective and taking into account the opportunities presented by Web 2.0 Your Presenters: Alan Stevenson/ Jim Hamill

Internationalisation and the Internet  SMEs face a number of barriers or obstacles when going international  Used effectively, the Internet can help to over come these barriers  Used effectively, the internet provides a powerful, low cost ‘gateway’ to global markets  Exciting new opportunities are emerging with the growth of Web 2.0

Internationalisation and the Internet But success in a Web 2.0 environment requires new ‘mindsets’ and new approaches to business strategy development and international marketing Marketing as a conversation with your customers; as a conversation with your network

‘The times they are a changing’ Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam And don’t criticise What you can't understand Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command Your old road is Rapidly agin‘ Then you better start swimmin’ Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin’ Bob Dylan

Workshop Content An Overview of Web 2.0 – what is it? Web 2.0 in Action - examples Web 2.0 and Your Business - practical advice Next Steps: Web 2.0 strategy development and implementation

Questions and Comments Don’t bother because we don’t really care if you have any questions, what your opinion is or what you think; if you ask a question we will ignore you

Web 2.0: An Overview  What is it?  Business impact?  Opportunities and threats?

What Is It? A new buzz word coined by management consultants to encourage us to part with our hard earned cash or A fundamental change in the way people use the Internet, their online expectations and experiences

What Is It? It’s a fundamental, revolutionary change…… Major impact on consumer/B2B decision-making and behaviour across a broad spectrum of industries Major opportunities for businesses to engage with their customers/ with their network/ with their ‘tribe’ Marketing as a ‘conversation’………..

What Is It? All revolutions have ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. ‘Winners’ will be businesses who fully utilise the interactive power of Web 2.0 technology for building strong ‘1-to-1’ customer and network relationships - especially with their ‘Most Valuable’ and ‘Most Growable’ Those who fully leverage Web 2.0 for ‘Identifying, Acquiring, Retaining and Growing ‘Quality’ Customers Requires a new ‘mindset’ and new approaches to business strategy development and implementation

Web 2.0 A fundamental change in the way people use the Internet ……. Rather than being passive recipients of ‘brand messages’, Web 2.0 is characterised by –Information ‘pull’ rather than ‘push’ –User generated content –Openness, sharing, collaboration, interaction, communities, and social networking ‘Power to the people’ – Web 2.0 empowers people The revolutionary nature of these changes is having a profound impact on consumer/B2B decision-making and behaviour across a broad spectrum of industries

Web 2.0 The end of the beginning of…….. The read only Internet The ‘tell them how good’ we are Internet Traditional ‘push’ marketing strategies (declining effectiveness – nobody listens any more) The ‘Brand’ as we know it – People are becoming ‘cynical’ to brands and resistant to brand messages- -the ‘brand’ becomes the customer experience The end of the ‘About Us’ web site…..and the beginning of the ‘About You’ web site

Web 2.0: An Overview  Applications  Features  Implications

Applications Social Network Sites Social Content Social Bookmarks Blogs Wikis Virtual Realities RSS Feeds Podcasts Social Applications Mash Ups Mobile Web; Internet Telephony

These applications can be ‘internal’ to your own web site or the use of ‘external’ 2.0 sites

Characteristics Communities and Networks Interactivity Social Element Openness Peering Hosted Services Global Sharing Empowerment Mass Collaboration The Internet as the platform

Impact Business Intelligence Customer Interaction Sales & Marketing Customer Experience Customer Insight Processes and HRM Mindset Product Development Reputation Management Rich Internet Applications IT Infrastructure

International Marketing 2.0 Web 2.0 Applications Open source Online Applications/ Web Services Social Network Sites Social Content – Social Bookmarking Blogs or Weblogs Wikis Podcasts/ Vodcasts Virtual Realities Mash Ups RSS Feeds Mobile Web; Internet Telephony Characteristics Communities and Networks Openness Sharing Peering Hosted Services – online applications; the Internet as the platform Interactivity Social Element Mass Collaboration Empowerment Global Business Impact Mindset Business Intelligence Customer Insight and Understanding Customer Interaction Enhanced Customer Experience – Rich Internet Applications Reputation Management Sales and Marketing Product Development and R&D e.g. engage and co-create IT/Software/Applications Operations, Internal Processes and HRM

Business Impact The need for new approaches to business strategy development and international marketing –Traditional approach: Product development – Differentiate – Market and Promote - Sell –New model based on: Communities, networks, openness, peering, sharing, collaboration, customer empowerment, ‘think and act’ globally

The Groundswell Li and Bernoff (2008) A spontaneous movement of people using online tools to connect, take charge of their own experiences and get what they need from each other (information, support, ideas, products, bargaining power etc) The ‘groundswell’ is unstoppable – it’s a social revolution; a permanent, revolutionary shift in the way the world works You can try to fight it or join it – ‘energise the groundswell’