You probably have taken full advantage of Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping day of the year. You have seen some shoppers camping outdoors overnight anxiously waiting until the department store opens at dawn, as people go ballistic on the 56' Plasma TV for $600. The lines were long, it was difficult to find help, and customers were auguring over the last $17 Barbie doll and fighting over the last $200 desktop computer.
But, what do you think has happened the following Saturday afternoon? Everyone and their mother will get on Twitter and tweet their horrible shopping experience with a brand that did not show them any love. Twitter has become customer service on steroids. Social media has made it easier than ever before for consumers to express their opinion to be heard and it is absolutely essential for brands to listen and respond. But, how far should a brand go to listen and respond effectively?
Have Courage and Receive Honest Feedback
Reaching out to millions of consumers who thrive online 24/7 requires a different type of mindset and some courage. In April, Ford gave 100 top bloggers a Ford Fiesta to drive for six months. What was the catch? The bloggers were required to post a YouTube video about the car at least once a month. They were encouraged to speak their minds about the Fiesta on their blogs, Facebook and Twitter. As a brand, are you willing to adapt to the culture change and courageous enough to receive positive and/or negative feedback. Remember focus groups? A focus group study can run anywhere from $10,000 – $15,000. In the past, clients were more than willing to adapt the face to face consumer interactions and implement them into actionable ideas. The same thing can be accomplished on a smaller scale at a much lower cost through the use of consumer feedback through social media channels.
Try Not To React Before Thinking
Last year, Johnson & Johnson’s Motrin campaign broke waves in the blogsphere. Motrin released a video that offended the Twitter moms, which made the brand, take down the ad and then issue an apology. But, according to a Lightspeed Research survey, almost 90%% of the women had never seen the video. Once they saw the ad, 45% of the women liked the video, 41% did not have any feeling about it and 15% did not like it. Do we wait until we have vocal critics and then panic? No. Not all criticisms call for immediate action. Addressing the issue through social or electronic media targeted only to the small percentage of angry moms could have been a better response to the situation.
Good Brands Actually Listens
Blogs, like Twitter and Facebook are providing a platform for CEO’s, their companies and their brands to talk directly to consumers. Comcast had a reputation for having the worst customer service rating. Comcast customers were so upset, they starting tweeting and blogging about how Comcast does not care about their customers. Comcast could not ignore potential customers who consume media in a new way and had to embrace the power of social media. Now, for over a year, Comcast has been using Twitter to listen to criticism and talk directly to their customers. You tweet about a Comcast issues on Twitter, they will respond so fast it would shock you!
Social media and social networking has literally changed the way companies do business. Social media has given consumers the upper hand more than ever before. They demand to be listened to. What do brands need to do? Brands have to know their consumer’s social-media habits, monitor postings to keep an eye out for negative postings and have a response plan in place to address those consumer concerns. Social media has turned the dialog between companies and their customers on its head.
