blogonawire

Is there anything more frustrating than trying to have a conversation with someone who’s clearly not listening to you?  It’s a simple fact – no one likes being ignored.  Now, I’m not out to boil any rabbits, but the situation is exacerbated ten-fold when the other party is a multi-billion dollar company and you’re just a lowly mouse in their eyes. 

That’s why I don’t feel bad about GM hittin’ the skids.  My heart goes out to the hundreds of thousands of employees, dealerships and those earning their keep in related industries who’ll be affected if GM, Ford & Chrysler go under — but a piece of me really just wants to say, “Duh” and “told ya so!”

I mean, how long have we known that a dependence on “dino-slurping monsters of the macadam” (a.k.a. SUV’s) are not the way to go? At least since I was a kid and remember watching the gasoline lotteries on the nightly news and asking my parents if we we’re “odd or even” to get gas that day. History certainly repeats itself, and companies built on poor strategies, that ignore their consumer base and the tell-tale signs all around them, do not deserve my pity – nor whatever portion of my tax dollars go into the proposed $25 BILLION bailout.  I don’t see Honda or Toyota raising their hands for a handout.  Why is that?  Because those two companies in particular, listen to the wisdom of crowds, engage their consumers in conversations and have built their businesses on putting the consumer first.

Storm’s a-blowin’!

In case you (or the US auto industry) haven’t noticed, a sea change has occurred with regard to consumer behavior — and technology is the change agent driving these changes.  Old school, top-down mentalities don’t work.  Trying to control the masses doesn’t work anymore. Force-feeding marketing messages to the masses doesn’t work anymore.  With the advent of the Internet not only do we have unparalleled access to information — we have incomparable access to insights and opinions, and best of all communication.  I’m not talking telegrams here people — REAL, valid, florid communication – between consumers, between brands and between peers. According to a global Nielsen survey of 26,486 Internet users in 47 markets, consumer recommendations are the most credible form of advertising among 78% of the study’s respondents. (Nielsen, “Word-of-Mouth the Most Powerful Selling Tool”)  The Internet is the great equalizer, the lynchpin technology that enables our conversations. The Internet has truly put the power in the hands of the people and only the companies who embrace and understand today’s consumer marketspace will survive this economic downturn — and thrive!

If you really want to succeed, take a steep back from what you think you know.  Take a good look around at what’s going on in your space.  I bet it’s changed pretty radically in the last 10 years, but even more so within the last five.  That’s because your brand is not what you say it is.  Your brand is the cumulative experience of the collective.  Your brand, and your company’s viability are on the hook to consumers. You need to put consumers first, listen to the conversations they’re having about your brand (blogs, videos, forums, ratings and review sites…etc.) and create a plan to engage them in productive dialogue, address their concerns, renovate your company based on your findings…and I bet you’ll learn valuable, empowering things you would never have even thought to discuss with them.

Does this make you uncomfortable? 

Are you still buying records, cassettes or even CD’s?  Unlikely.  The music industry was somewhat blindsided, seemingly overnight with the technology change that swept that industry with the advent of digital music files.  Universal Music Group CEO Doug Morris once called iPod owners “thieves” and set his company’s legal beagles on MySpace and YouTube for copyright infringement. He even pulled Universal’s content from Yahoo!.

“He wasn’t prepared for a business that was going to be so totally disrupted by technology… He just doesn’t have that kind of mind.” a friend was quoted as saying in a WIRED magazine article.
 
Well, if this makes you uncomfortable — you’re going to like irrelevance even less! 
Morris alienated millions of Universal fanatics who, in reality, were marketing his company’s music for him. It was clear that Universal’s top brass was out of touch with today’s consumer and the company was forced to change its views and approach to the music industry in the digital age. Ultimately, Universal reversed its position, licensed deals with Yahoo and YouTube and 22% of the company’s revenue came from iTunes in 2007 according to a follow-up Wired article.

Negative can be Positive

Naturally when you tap into the wisdom of crowds, you’re going to hear some squeaky wheels. Don’t panic and don’t obsess over the few.  According to Bazaarvoice, a consumer shopping, word –of-mouth, ratings and review technology platform provider, “most word of mouth is positive”. Across all of Bazaarvoice US clients, 80% of product ratings are 4 or 5 stars out of 5. (“J Curve,” Bazaarvoice and Keller Fay)  Additionally, the community will police itself, and consumers who are your brand advocates will squash those squeakers for you.

Case in point, and I love these democratic user-voting forums – check out Dell Idea Storm, MyStarbucksIdea, or UserVoice.  With these forums, invaluable amounts of consumer insight are garnered and the community votes up or down on ideas — so the best ideas bubble to the top and the crotchety, squeaky wheels get voted down.  Sitewire’s been using this kind of forum for our clients, our clients’ clients and even internally to get a pulse for what’s really important to the masses.  We learn things we could have never dreamed of or sussed out of 3 costly 10-person focus groups.  It’s the power of the masses and broad consensus that provide the truest insights and ideas.  For example, in a recent Sitewire user-voting forum, we learned that recycling was a high priority for many employees, and we added specific types of recycling bins to our offices. Dell learned that over 80,000 people loved the idea of a computer being shipped without an operating system pre-loaded. Whoda thunkit?  Dell hadn’t, but within months they were shipping them out of the factory sans OS and consumers ate it up like hot pasta.

If You’re Gonna Listen – You Hafta Respond
Listening to conversations about your brand online is the easy part.  Sitewire offers Social Sentiment reporting to do just that – but this isn’t a sales pitch.  I’m telling you that once your start listening  — the next step is engaging consumers in the conversation.  Some of the conversations might not be the most pleasant to have – but again, no one likes to be ignored. The simple act of responding — letting someone know their voice is heard — is worth millions. Everyone likes to be validated and by adding a corporate voice to the consumer conversation can earn you huge brownie points with your constituents. Honda did and started rolling out hybrid vehicles in 2000.  The Toyota Camry Hybrid was introduced two years ago and already accounts for 60,000 unit sales per year or 15% of total Camry sales – in two years. Change doesn’t happen overnight – but it doesn’t take long either, so there’s no time to sit back and wait for things to pass.  You need to start listening today and create a feedback loop with your customers and potential consumers now!

Dream Away
A little exercise here… Close your eyes and think of a brand you adore. Think of a brand you perceive as progressive. Think of a brand you feel listens to you and puts your needs and wants first.  Now open your eyes. Is it any of these brands? 

• Lane Bryant
• Fashion Bug
• Levitz
• Piercing Pagoda
• Zales
• CompUSA
• Pep Boys
• Sprint Nextel
• Ethan Allen
• KB Toys
I bet not a one of them was on your mind.  These brands/companies are from a chain email my mom sent me today about companies that are having massive layoffs, closing many locations and/or going out of business before the Q4 holiday season even hits critical mass! Granted, Starbucks is closing some locations – but then again, did we really need 3.75 Starbucks per capita in the US anyway?  My point is – brands and companies need to put consumers’ needs and wants first, gain consumer insight by listening and then engaging in conversation, and making critical changes to their corporate plan to meet the needs of the consumer.  None of the companies on that list in my mom’s email properly executed this, in my opinion.

Darwin was right on
While it’s sad to see 100+-year-old companies going by the wayside, this underscores the necessity of being an organic, dynamic entity in today’s marketplace — and this is an imperative going forward. Technology is not static. Technology will not stop and wait for you. The world is not going to stop innovating to give you a break to catch up. Consumers will not be ignored. Yes, it may be unsettling to face the facts. Yes, you need to have some hard discussions about what works, what doesn’t and what you’re going to do today and tomorrow to remain a viable business entity.

With budgets and belts tightening everywhere these days, only Darwin’s fittest will be survivors.  I’ll wager you today that it’s companies like Dell, Starbucks and Honda who’ll remain standing when we come out on the other side of this economic contraction.

If you don’t have a clue as to what your brand means to consumers – consult an interactive agency with good listening skills and solid strategic ability.  Get a priority plan in place to:
1) Start listing
2) Participate in the conversation and then,
3) Re-vise your plan based on what your consumers are telling you they need and want.

To quote the immortal Mr. T, “I pity da fool”.   Actually, I don’t I don’t pity GM, Ford or Chrysler.  I don’t feel bad for multi-million dollars execs thinking they can tune out the world, ignore the needs and wants of their (potential) consumers and continue to volley hollow marketing messages at consumers, thinking that they’ll blindly follow.  We mice aren’t blind. We’re online.  And we want real conversations with you.  Hello!