Church of the Customer wants to know if you're a Network or a Cult. Or rather, they're helping you identify just what kind of a customer base you want to build.
For companies just dipping their toes into social media, the question, what kind of community do you want is usually met with a blank stare or a joke about KoolAid. Deep down, I think most business owners want customers to join their cult. It seems like the easy way to insure loyalty, but we often don't think about what you need to do to make a cult work for you.
There's the lighting, the robes, the 10 gallon drums for mixing the Kool-Aid (told you there'd be a joke). The graphic tells a better story, which is that if you're building (or joining) a community online, what kind of community do you want to build? And for Blast Marketing readers - how do you want to communicate with them.
Check out their definition of a cult:
Cult
"Your community could be of medium size and
resemble a cult. Its value is a strong belief system not fulfilled
through mainstream channels. A charismatic leader has codified the
belief system into rituals that people love and believe in. It may not
be huge, but its devotion meter is off the scale."
That seems like a good idea, but it requires you to have a cult leader. Anyone want to volunteer the time?
The network sounds pretty good if you're a marketer, but it's difficult to sell a product to a network. Everyone is in it for something.
Large communities form nations, but nations often don't want to hear from you. They have their own agenda, and it's usually not selling 15% in the third quarter.
Which leaves Cliques. Most social media marketing should focus on Cliques, because cliques form around a narrow set of criteria that are often complementary to you selling your product or service. Cliques are numerous, easy to find, and if you're willing to put the time in, you'll get a reward equal to or greater to your effort.
Unless you're one of those really lame cliques that are full of pretensions, but end up never really being much after high school. Ben really makes you think about this. What kind of community you want to build/join should be something you're asking yourself prior to the launch.types f
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