Last year, Time magazine voted me (and you) as Person of the Year. Advertising Age also voted me (and you) as Marketing Agency of the Year. Why? Because suddenly, you and me, we’re important. And we have a voice. And people listen to us. And they respond. Pity then, that many businesses are missing this vital point.
I, for one, am deeply frustrated by a “Big Boy” corporate, from whom I am renting an industrial premises. On the face of it, this is a highly reputable company, which was one of the reasons I agreed to pay a rather high premium for the space. In reality, they are not much more than a joke. For instance, they handed over the keys to my “fully occupational” unit, and then realised they forgot to install power points and took three months to rectify the matter. Yep. Three months. Or, as another example, they hired a security company that required sign-ins during office hours for the visitors, but left all gates and booms open during the night.
My frustration with the company is growing daily, and we are now in litigation. What is most frustrating however, is that in the world of high connectivity in which I operate, and in which I expect close to instant gratification from my service providers, I am getting the very opposite from this company. When I send off an email, I expect an appropriate response, or at least acknowledgment, within the day. I have records of repeatedly sending emails to the company, and receiving one sentence acknowledgments weeks, sometimes months later. I am slowly moving up the chain of authority, and the higher I go, the more amazed I am by the poor service, respect and common decency that I am encountering.
The problem, I think, is that to them I am but a small fish in a giant ocean. They close property deals the size of some countries GDPs regularly, and I can picture them rolling their eyes every time they see a pesky email from Eve in their inbox.
But wait.
This is a new era we live in now. I have a voice. And I have a keyboard. And I am not shy to use either. I can now blog about my encounters with the company. I can create a Facebook group. I can set up wiki’s so others with similar stories can contribute. I can post a video to YouTube. I can set up a website and optimise it so that every time you Google the company you will see my point of view in the top five results. I can utilise my network of contacts to spread the word, and with some clever tactics (and trust me, I have them) I can even get the story into print.
Will the company crumble? Will the stock devalue? Will people get fired? Umm, no. But the word will spread. And it wouldn’t be the first time that a giant was humbled by the might of the typed word, or digital message.
For example:
The good news for business is that there is good news. As it turns out, people like you and me are also eager to promote good service. If we come across something that is extraordinary, we will spread the word — whether through a blog or over a dinner table.
For example,
The fact is that people tend to spread news about topics about which they are passionate. A consumer who is not paid to review a product will tend to do so only if he finds the product to be either superb or atrocious. Middle ground is irrelevant.
And there are no super special skills required. Your writing style can be bad, your spelling horrific, and yes, your facts can even be wrong. But if you, as a consumer, highlight an experience with which many others identify (whether good or bad), the viral factor will be powerful, and your news will spread fast. And it is uncontainable.
Seems an easy enough formula for business to adopt: excel at what you do, and we will help you get to the top. But all is fair in love and war: disappoint us, and we will aim to bring you down.
Ready to play?