As we have previously
discussed customers coming out of the recent recession are fundamentally different than
they were before. Even customers not directly impacted financially were
emotionally shaken by the uncertainty, anxiety and adverse effect on family and
friends. Many organizations continue to do “business as usual” failing to
understand the new customer and thus
completely miss the mark in how vocal and powerful the new customer has become.
The internet has increased customers’ assertiveness in voicing their
views. Social media is completely changing the landscape of
communication. Social media drives five
times the impact of traditional word of mouth.
According to research, 62% of customers who read about a bad experience
on social media stop doing business with or avoid doing business with the
offending company. This “secondary smoke” phenomenon will grow as the use of
social media increases with more and more consumers being digital natives
rather than digital immigrants.
Smart organizations provide lots of vehicles and channels for
customers to easily and register their feedback and suggestions. “Most good innovation comes from customers,”
says Ebay CEO John Donahue. “The more time we spend thinking in the ivory tower
in San Jose, the worse off we’re going to be.” Customers want to be treated as partners. BusinessWeek.com
reported how Unilever assembled a group of consumers to help them design a new
health-and-beauty product called Twist.
As one executive involved in the highly successful project commented,
“Often consumers take you to places that you would never thought of going to
had you used more traditional research methods.” Like the merchant in a small village, wise
organizations a learning conversation with customers.
Many organizations struggle with how to implement a “social
media strategy”. Companies like Whole Foods and Coca Cola have been very
successful in connecting with their customers via social media. They attribute
their success to starting the “old fashioned way” by listening to the
conversations their customers were having over many of the social media
channels. Then they began a dialogue (two way conversation) with customers
utilizing several social media channels to test effectiveness. Their approach
with social media has evolved to a very effective element in their overall
voice of the customer program by involving their customer in every step of
program development.
The American Express Global Customer Service Barometer
research reports that nearly half (48%) of consumers report always or often
using an online posting or blog to get others’ opinions about a company’s
customer service reputation. They report that when consumers go online
they’re looking for “watch outs,” saying they put greater credence in negative
reviews on blogs and social networking sites than on positive ones (57% and
48%, respectively).
Are you listening on lots of channels to what customers are saying about your service
experience and responding to their comments with urgency? You should be as the
new customer is loud AND very powerful!
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