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:

  • When Vincent Ferrari called AOL to cancel his account, he also taped the conversation. The service and attitude he got from the phone rep was so outrageous, that he posted it to YouTube, where it has been viewed by more than a million people. And it even made it onto the Tonight Show. AOL was forced to respond with a public apology, and a change of procedure. You can watch the video clip here.
  • Brian Finkelstein’s Comcast internet service kept going down, and when the technician arrived and had to call for support to head office, he was placed on hold for such a long time that he fell asleep on Brian’s couch. Brian filmed the incident, added some music and text, and posted it to YouTube. Once again, after the clip was watched by thousands of people, Comcast apologised and did some firing. You can watch the video clip here.
  • Kryptonite manufactures expensive bicycle locks, that are supposed to be unbreakable. Until, that is, a video appeared on YouTube showing how a simple Bic pen can break the lock in seconds. The New York Times and the Associated Press picked up on the story, causing irrevocable damage for the company. If you want to pick a Kryptonite lock, you can learn how to do so here.

    • 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,

  • Warner attributes 25% of the $100-million revenue of March of the Penguins to a marketing promotion initiated by two women who run a podcast.
  • Mentos revenue jumped 15% after two consumers posted a funny YouTube video involving mentos, diet coke and lots and lots of foam.The video was watched over 3,7-million times, and the value of the PR is estimated at $10-million.

    • 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?

    Author

    • Eve Dmochowska spends her day playing on and with the Internet, and thinks it is a rather fun way to make money. She is the founder of Crowdfund, a crowd sourced fund to help local online startups get off the ground, and of the Geekspace, Joburgs first hot desking space for geeks. She is also the co-founder of The Broadband Bible which helps SAfricans find the perfect ADSL plan and the Airtime Bible, which compares the costs of cellphone contracts.

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    Eve Dmochowska

    Eve Dmochowska spends her day playing on and with the Internet, and thinks it is a rather fun way to make money. She is the founder of Crowdfund,...

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