I’m a consumer and I demand to be heard!

Yes, that’s right and I hope you are listening! You see, I just left your place of business and twittered my network (via my cell phone) about my experience there. And then when I get home, I am going to go online to YELP and write a review about your products and services. I hope for your sake, that you provided good service.

Then, if I am feeling up to it, I am going to document my experience in my blog. I may even bookmark my own post in Digg and Stumble. Then, I’ll go to Yahoo and Google and search for “your business review” and see what others are saying about you. I’m curious; and may even chime in if I feel the need. And then if I have time, I will shoot out a bulletin to my MySpace friends with links to my latest blog entry; right after I post a status message on Facebok of course. Lastly, I am sure that your business will be a topic of discussion when we have friends over for dinner this weekend.

and the moral of the story is …

  • Consumers expect to be heard
  • Consumers don’t go to web sites anymore; they go to the search engine results page
  • Consumers trust each other more than the authority
  • Consumers are now micro-casting: spending time communicating with their circle of influence

As marketers, we need to start having conversations with our consumers instead of blasting out irrelevant marketing communications. We need to participate, listen and act.

Technorati Tags: social media, conversational marketing, conversational media,

Author: Michael Brito
Michael Brito is a Vice President of Social Media at Edelman Digital. All thoughts and opinions on this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of his employer or clients; neither past or present.
  • Jason Yee
    sweet post homie. Great story.
  • I hear you loud and clear.
  • Sarah B.
    Power to the people!
  • Good point--especially about those search page results. I really like how the internet is equalizing the playing field in so many ways, as well. Like politics...
  • This is obviously one great post. The information are very insightful and helpful. Thanks for sharing all of these.
  • Great article! Thanks.
  • Very good post! It is quite interesting to see the effect that just one disatisfied customer can have on a business. I suppose that is where reputation management would come into place. Fortunately as online marketers, we now have ways to reach out to the businesses to prevent or fix the outcome of slander. However, if this business deserves such criticism, the consumers seemingly do have more power than they used to when it comes to voicing opinion!
  • test post
  • swageboy
    Hi great blog lovin your work
  • The voice of the people will not be silenced.
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