What businesses can learn from the Grateful Dead

Several weeks back I wrote a post (How David Meerman Scott worked the web for the Grateful Dead) in which I made the observation that everywhere I turned on the web I seemed to run into David Meerman Scott‘s new book Marketing Lessons from The Grateful Dead (“What every business can learn from the most iconic band in history”).

The post was about how David and co-author Brian Halligan had been successful in getting word out about their new book. I had seen it covered by many online news sites and blogs, podcasts plus the odd webinar or two; there were also a few videos floating about online plus a presence on the likes of Facebook and Slideshare etc.

Long story short, I subsequently bought a copy of the book for my iPad and ripped straight into it (David kindly sent me a signed hard copy as well).

Here are my thoughts:

Firstly, I really enjoyed the book. It was a quick read and the book itself is small, compact and well designed.

The concept is pretty cool, especially for a business book. The title outlines the premise perfectly and is exactly what you get – marketing lessons from the Grateful Dead, a major-league band that became highly successful over a long period of time despite breaking many of the so-called ‘rules’ of the music industry.

My concern prior to reading was the authors might have tried retrofitting the content into the concept they had developed. Luckily, that wasn’t the case and the lessons flow effortlessly.

Crucially, the book works perfectly for today’s hyper-connected marketplace in which technology has levelled the playing field and consumers are rejecting the hard sales pitch.

Marketing today is less about broadcast advertising and more about sparking two-way conversation about your brand; it’s less about incessantly trying to win over new customers but rather looking after the ones you’ve got and building a community of loyal fans from a solid base.

And this is exactly what the Grateful Dead was all about.

Important Lessons

According to David and Brian, the band members:

• created a unique business model;
• chose a memorable name;
• built a diverse team;
• continued to be themselves;
• embraced technology.

These are important lessons for any business.

The Grateful Dead was well known for the way it recognised its fans. According to the authors, the band was clever in how it built its tight-knit community of fans and brought ‘the people’ along for the journey.

After looking at the structure of the band and how it operated, as well as the fan base it built up over time, the book looks at the ‘business’ of the Grateful Dead, including:

• cutting out the middleman;
• freeing up content;
• loosening up the brand;
• partnering with entrepreneurs; and
• giving back to the community.

While all of these elements struck a chord with me, the Dead pioneered several concepts and stood out in an industry that was (and, to a degree, still is) protectionist and risk-averse.

For example –

• the band’s decision to let people record their concerts (indeed, they established special ‘taper sections’ behind the mixing desk where recording gear could be set up for the best sound quality);
• encouraging fans to copy and share their material (with the only stipulation being that recordings not be sold for commercial purposes); and
• collaborating with merchandise vendors who sold Dead-branded gear outside the confines of the concert arenas.

Practising Social Media

Had the book been released five years ago, it probably wouldn’t have resonated like it does now. It might sound weird but the Grateful Dead was actually practising ‘social media’ well before social media (or the internet for that matter) existed.

This fits with my personal marketing philosophy, especially when it comes to the social media space.

Social media to me has never been just about the technology but rather it represents a seismic shift in the way we communicate and connect as individuals.

I see social media more so as an ethos, an attitude. Indeed, it’s this attitude that has fuelled the concept of the SWEAT EQUITY brand, which focuses on building a vibrant community of fans, embracing social technologies and standing for something other than just your product or service. SWEAT EQUITY is about being humble, authentic, collaborative and passionate.

And that, according to this book, is what the Grateful Dead was all about too. I love the parallels David and Brian have drawn between the Grateful Dead and the challenges of marketing in today’s competitive, networked environment.

If you enjoy this blog and all it represents, you’ll definitely love reading Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead!

Oh, BTW – the Dead continues to push ‘social boundaries’ with the release of an iPhone app called DeadSetz – it’s pretty cool, check it out!

Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead mini-documentary from David Meerman Scott on Vimeo.