This is the second part of my interview on beehiving for the Canadian business magazine, PROFIT. Kara Aaserud, assistant editor, came across my special report on beehiving and was interested in writing about it as an emerging market trend.

Part 1 of the interview was posted here on April 28th.

KA How big is this opportunity?
MH I think it’s very big — but it requires looking at things differently or we’ll miss it. Punk-polka groups? What do they talk about? What does it look like when they get together? How does their passion express itself? Are there sub groups within the larger group? Are there things they need that would make it easier for them to do their thing — punk-polka dancing shoes? Their own breed of clothing? Temporary tattoos? Punk-to-polka dating services? Could we supply them? How? Can we use their communication vehicles to market to them? How do they communicate? Can we enter their inner circle? Can we influence their inner circle? Can we add to their experience in a way that enhances it? And this is just one example.

Beehives are, by their very nature, more open to interaction, so it stands to reason that they’ll be more open to interaction with marketers than traditional market segments, and if we can find a way to be part of the community, everybody wins.

KA How can SMEs (small and medium enterprises) best exploit this knowledge?
MH Beehives can be encouraged through experience marketing and online interaction. There are really two ways to look at this, depending on your business — you can either study existing beehives or encourage the development of new ones. Studying existing beehives may uncover some opportunities for interaction with your product or service, new angles that hadn’t yet been explored. Or, if your product or service is something that experiences or interaction can be formed around, you may be able to begin new beehives by setting up events or opportunities for new customers to not only purchase but also use your product or service in groups in your controlled environment, or by interacting online.

KA Is beehiving necessarily a community? In other words, Lance Armstrong wristband wearers may have shared characteristics, but they’re certainly not a “community.” When people choose to be a part of a beehive, are they making an overt decision or is it more accidental?
MH “Community” can be interpreted in several different ways. Lance Armstrong’s “LIVESTRONG” campaign is more of an audience-style or kindred spirit community, and although wristband wearing has lost a lot of its steam, Armstrong’s group is definitely a type of community. All you need to do is watch the interaction between two people meeting each other for the first time in a business or social situation who notice that that the other also wears a yellow wristband — and you’ll see a sense of recognition, a spark of kinship. They suddenly have something in common, something to talk about, a common interest, shared values, even if they never see each other again. And while this type of community may not be as strong as the investment club that gets together in person every week, a bond is there, and marketers can find commonalities that will work as marketing hot buttons.

Some beehives form accidentally and just seem to come together, and some are planned, but I’d say that most people do make a choice to be a part of a beehive — that’s what makes them strong. You don’t choose to be part of a traditional marketing demographic — to be a woman age 25 to 33, Asian heritage, married with children (well, I guess you choose to be married with children!). But you have to choose to be an extreme snowboarder, a Saturn owner, or a country western fan. Most people wouldn’t recognize the term “beehiving”, they’d say they’re just doing their thing. The important thing is that the trend is towards more groups forming because of people’s shared values and passions, as traditional family and community social groups are going away.

KA And finally, can you give me some examples of beehiving done right?
MH By “done right,” do you mean having encouraged beehiving for marketing purposes? American Girl is a fantastic example. And Saturn in the early days is another. Both of these are wonderful examples of experience marketing, where the customer is immersed in the product experience. This immersion is fostered by the company and customers are treated as very special members of the extended family.

Saturn was way ahead of its time with this, and Saturn owners went crazy for the company-sanctioned festivals at the Spring Hill plant in Tennessee. Who would have thought that people would want to get together at the manufacturing plant with other people who had bought the same new car as they did? These people still get together in online forums to discuss their cars and the good old days, although today they’re just as likely to grouse about the company and the cars. I sure hope GM is listening in on some of this discussion.

From my friends with young daughters, I hear that American Girl is quite an experience. Parents and kids spend hours in these stores, and they’ve become destination locations. One of my clients drove his daughter to Chicago — a five-hour trip — just to shop at American Girl. They made a father/daughter weekend out of it. The shop has kid-sized outfits to match the doll clothes, a theater, a cafe for brunch or afternoon tea (with a waiting list), a doll hair salon, a photo studio, and special events like cooking classes and “star for a day” packages. American Girl customers are a strong and growing beehive where its members care passionately about American Girl products, inside and outside of the store. The dolls give entre to a wonderful community of which just about every young girl wants to be a part — it’s brilliant marketing.

KA Anything else you think I should know?
MH Beehives are like extended families for some people, and there’s a lot of trust among members of these groups, whether it’s deserved or not. Smart marketers will take advantage of this trend by listening, observing, encouraging, and offering real solutions that live up to the trust and passion inherent in beehives.

[tags]beehiving, PROFIT Magazine, Kara Aaserud, market trends, experience marketing, Iconoculture, niche markets, Lance Armstrong, LIVESTRONG, Saturn, American Girl[/tags]

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