Soapboxes for Everybody!

Doesn’t it feel good to live in the age of the empowered consumer?

No, we can’t force our planes to take off on time. But sometimes, if you use the right channels, you can get some money taken off your ticket price to compensate for poor or incompetent service. It’s hard to imagine getting this kind of immediate response 20 years ago without a lawyer or a lot of letter writing and time spent on the phone.

You — yes you — can have your very own platform

Whereas consumer advocacy used to be the bailiwick of your local news team, now — enabled by a democratic global medium (the internet) — just about anyone can air their consumer grievances. At first, brands were loath to listen to the web rabble, assuming that no one would pay any attention to the illogical rants of a woefully uninformed community of angry consumers.

Big mistake.

The ranters did not go away. And, it turns out, some of them actually had a point and could impact business. Sites like Consumerist and Elliott not only proved to be popular hubs of consumer advocacy, they also filled up with relevant advice on how to get the attention of big corporations. Thus, companies started to listen, learn, respond, and even correct. Nowadays, it’s not just damage control, either. Crowdsourcing product development or simply casing the crowd for new ideas is gaining favor online.

Efficiency of communication

Further, the online feedback channel is a much more streamlined and efficient communication channel for end users and brands alike. The conversations and interactions are now public, not isolated within a private telephone line. Public discussion might have scared big brands away before, but now a quick response can mitigate further issues and also help build a brand’s reputation within relevant communities. “Hey! [BRAND NAME] does listen to its customers.”

Be advised, find a balance

While brands continue the mass migration to social media hotspots like Facebook and Twitter, their journey has plenty of potential pitfalls. Primary among them is an unanticipated onslaught of angry consumers who finally have a forum for their frustrations. Internally, the brand had viewed this as a move to an open line of communication to more efficiently address concerns and earn some goodwill. But suddenly it’s bottlenecked with grievances, and the brand stops in its tracks. As the consumers wait for a satisfactory response, angry voices become angrier.

Not responding to your online critics is viewed as poor customer service and a tacit admission that your product is substandard and that you are unwilling to correct it.

Consumer feedback channels are now a must-have for big brands. Whether it’s Whole Foods on Get Satisfaction, Comcast on Twitter, or Starbucks’s own branded My Starbucks Idea, companies are finally tuning in to the benefit consumer voices can have for their business. We’ll be reviewing and considering these channels in forthcoming Spot On! articles.

Photo credits: Steve Rhodes, Pink Sherbet Photography

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Spot On! articles are released on Wednesdays and highlight emerging trends in web content distribution and finds examples of great distribution, efforts that just miss the mark, or utter failures, and then offers helpful suggestions or opportunities for elevating the engagement.

About the author

Brad Schwarzenbach -

As an analyst on the Tippingpoint Strategy team, Brad explores new opportunities for clients to build relationships with their customers. He’s always testing new social media channels, poring over analytic data, and identifying emerging trends. He also speaks at conferences & events about uncovering powerful messages hidden within brands' unique values.

Brad’s research has contributed to the development of content & contributor strategies for such clients as Breville, Rodale, Long’s Jewelers, and Fusionapps, as well as being a frequent contributor to the Tippingpoint blog. He’s been “listening” to the way we communicate online since the old AOL People Connection days and watched the way that digital communication has evolved.

An English and Creative Writing major at the University of Connecticut, Brad’s spent most of his career creating web content and becoming intimately familiar with web theory for Bayard, Inc. and TomTom Inc., giving Brad keen ears and eyes to what, exactly, makes web content valuable.

Outside the office, Brad feels most at home with his beautiful wife-to-be Kristina, or on the golf course. “There’s a distinct pace and rhythm to the way people communicate online.  Understanding and taking part in them yields amazing opportunities for my clients to not only grow but to improve their business. I’m constantly looking for those opportunities.”