Salomon was able to preserve its competitive advantage in the face of much stronger competition thanks to a disruptive innovation. Here Benoît Sarazin (FarWind Consulting) explains how Salomon kept a step ahead of the competition by using the Web 2.0 – and especially its community management features…
Preserving a competitive advantage in the face of much stronger competition
The competition will always end up becoming conscious of what you are doing, even when you target a niche market. They have the means to wipe you out in no time. The solution? Communities of enthusiasts. Salomon was faced with giants such as Adidas and Asics that were taking an interest in this new market: They began to sponsor races and were signing ridiculously big contracts with athletes.
Community Management : a strategic choice
Powerful competitors have huge budgets. It is pointless to try to beat them on that front. That is why Benoît Sarazin recommended community management for Salomon, at a time when it was not yet mainstream. Salomon at first teamed up with 3 community managers and now has 13 of them in 14 countries.
Values shared by the community: passion
Community managers do not have primarily financial motivations. They are all passionate about running in nature and are referred to by the community. They are passionate and enthusiastic at the idea of being a core part of an adventure of their own making. They are recognized on a national level for their athletic achievements. They want the sport to grow, they want to spread it to more and more people and increase the number of aficionados. One of their favorite topics to comment on is the achievements of Killian Jornett, a champion whose performances are incredible. Being relatively young he is largely ignored by the mass media, but his exploits in the Kilimanjaro are followed by thousands of fans.
Community Management : cheaper and more efficient
This system is very efficient because connoisseurs give advice on what equipment is the best. When a highly regarded athlete recommends Salomon shoes, it creates a snowball effect. The amateurs then spread these recommendations to their peers and they too become brand ambassadors. This is a cheap and powerful tool for Salomon: a community management contract is much cheaper than a standard media campaign. It basically consists in word of mouth, multiplied and magnified by the World Wide Web.
Being close to your customers is a major asset in making your competitive advantage sustainable.
- Be accessible and attentive to passionate consumers
The average amateur can join Killian in one of his races. Being able to run 10km with an idol is a powerful feeling for an enthusiastic amateur. Community Managers are accessible and attentive to nature running enthusiasts. They spread information on specialist websites and on social networks. They answer questions and ask some themselves too. The community reacts immediately and exchange views widely. Pictures on Facebook are uploaded very soon after an information is spread. And finally the torch is passed onto specialized stores.
- Geographical proximity
Stay local – act on a regional or even national level, but not a global one. Salomon organizes races on a local, regional, or national scale, with the involvement local specialized stores.
The contractual obligations of community managers
Community managers have certain duties to fulfill : updating information on a regular basis, attending certain sporting events, participating in in-store events and training sessions, being assistants at certain events, etc… They help Salomon’s teams at Annecy respond to quality issues.
4 rules to follow to succeed in community management
- Be transparent: refrain from stonewalling. When there is a problem, admit it.
- Make it tangible, not abstract: this is not a dream
- Share a common passion: common to employees, amateurs (consumers), community managers…
- Keep it local: it is a fallacy to think that communities are global. Communities can only be local. The marketing must be local, in the field, done in partnership with the community.
Is community Management possible everywhere?
Yes, even where there is no community of enthusiasts. It is the key to knowing the opinions of the web-goers of the community that you are targeting. This in turn gives you the opportunity to understand their needs and to be attentive to their frustrations, desires and wishes. For this to happen you must first engage in a conversation with the community.
Community Management is an essential tool in creating disruptive innovations and in preserving your competitive advantage over your competitors, even when they are much stronger than yourself.
Benoit Sarazin
