Moore’s Law has always intrigued me. Named for Gordon Moore, one of the co-founders of Intel, Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors that can be put onto a single computer chip will double approximately every 2 years. Moore’s Law has had tremendous staying power as the prediction first made in 1965 has generally held up for more than 40 years.
Today, there is a new Moore’s Law, one that has major implications for marketers. Its namesake is not Gordon Moore. Instead, it is Michael Moore, the documentary filmmaker known for taking on the Establishment. Moore’s Law of 2010 is simple: “tell your story or have it told for you.” Social media give people a stronger voice than ever, and companies that fail to engage stakeholder groups or worse yet, attempt to control the conversation, will have their stories told for them.
Why do I say attempting to control the conversation is a bigger mistake for a business to make than not encouraging dialogue at all? I believe it is a bigger mistake because it is a symptom of a larger problem: a sense that the seller should control or otherwise exert power in their relationships with buyers. It suggests weakness, in effect saying that customers and other stakeholders are not valued enough to invite them to have a voice through online communities, social networking pages, blogs, or other channels. Control equals power, and increasingly consumers have power in buyer-seller relationships.
If you think the “new” Moore’s Law is misguided, look no further than the recent skewering Nestlé experienced from advocacy groups for buying palm oil from a supplier whose harvesting practices endanger rainforests and orangutans. Dismissing an outcry as part of a lunatic fringe or simply ignoring with the hope the issue goes away is hardly a strategy today. Marketers must replace control with conversation if they really want to influence how their story is told.
DM News – “Moore’s Law Helps Companies in Social”
