Business need a boost? What would Google do?

Not too long ago, Google was viewed as a handy site which could help you find your nearest pizza restaurant or facts about manatees.

Now it could hold the key to keeping your business alive in the depths of the recession.

New media expert and blogger Jeff Jarvis sees the Californian internet giant as a model for sound business practice in the 21st century.

His book, What Would Google Do?, investigates the ways that companies can mimic its success, even if they hail from a completely different industry.

Jeff, a new media columnist for The Guardian, said: “My hope is that the book is more relevant than ever in this financial climate, because we’ve got to re-invent things and there’s no better model than Google. They understand the world in their gut. It’s part of their DNA.�

From its modest beginnings as a brainchild of two Stanford University students, Google has grown into one of the world’s most powerful companies in just over 10 years, boasting more than 20,000 full-time employees and a stranglehold on the search engine sector.

But it was its ethos, and not its history, which inspired Jeff to write his book.

He said: “I didn’t want any relationship with Google before the book. Google’s story from Google’s viewpoint has already been done.

“I didn’t want to write their story. I wanted to write about the world using Google as a lens.�

In What Would Google Do?, Jeff boils down the ethos of Google into simple principles, such as promoting openness and greater collaboration with customers.

The ideas can be applied to nearly any sector, from the restaurant industry to healthcare, telecommunications and government work.

He said: “The internet is not the media or a cash register. It’s a connection machine.

“You can transfer that principle across almost any industry or institution.

“The mass market is dead. For years, businesses have seen their public as a mass in their products, size and mentality. But we want something specific to our needs and interests.

“PR and legal services could be an exception, as they have to do what their clients say. But every other industry can build a more collaborative relationship with its public. It simply requires you to respect your audience and trust them.

“For example, I get so enraged when I get in my car and I can’t plug in my iPod. If they’d have listened to us when they were designing the vehicle, we could have told them about that.

“If you want to grow nowadays, you can’t own, control and buy it all. You have to work in a collaborative network.

“I’m not claiming there’s not a role for secrecy in development but if you can have an open collaborative relationship with your customers, why wouldn’t you?�

* What Would Google Do? is published by Collins Business, priced at £15.99

What does Google mean for the mass media? See part two for more.

Jeff's Top Tips For Google Greatness

Life is public. So is business:

“‘Publicness’ is about more than having a website.

"Owning platforms, people, products or even intellectual property is no longer the key to success. Openness is.�

Do what you do best. Link to the rest:

“Retailers should link to manufacturers for product information. Manufacturers should link to customers who help each other with products.

"Serving masses is no longer the basis of all business. Serving masses of niches is the future.�

Your customers are your ad agency:

“Every time a customer recommends you and your product to a friend is a time when you don’t have to market to that friend. Your customers have always owned your brand.�

Your worst customer is your best friend:

“Search for yourself and find out what people are saying about you. Then respond to people. Find someone who has a problem. Solve it. Learn from it. Then tell people what you learned.�

Collaborate with your customer:

“Enabling customers to collaborate with you – in creating, distributing, marketing and supporting products – is what creates a premium in today’s market.�