My discourse for this post is about social media and its role in post-consumerism. Before I started this course, I had very little idea exactly how powerful a single person with a catchy or compelling message could be in the social world. I also didn't think about how little control companies really have over their marketing messages. Basically, companies need to be more responsible, accountable, and non-sociopathic. Shocking, really. Corporations want to be treated like people... but they don't always want to treat their employees or customers like people.
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| Image used with implicit permission from Microsoft. Really, it's just clip art. |
Olivier Blanchard wrote Social Media ROI, one of the books we're reading in the social media course right now. Blanchard says "Fifty years ago, a regular customer might have been greeted by name when she entered the store... In a cruel twist of irony, efficient ad growth made companies forget the value of being social... and made the 'social company' the exception rather than the rule - that is, until social media came along to potentially make things right again" (p. 5). It seems that it's a somewhat empowering time to be a customer, at least in the sense of demanding and receiving decent treatment. For proof, check out the United Breaks Guitars videos, if you haven't already.
Have you experienced this recently? Have you shared a complaint with a large company, and received the same old level of indifference? Or did you unexpectedly get stellar customer service? With or without sharing your experience on the Twitter? (I know, it's just called "Twitter." Humor me.)
I'll humor you... a well-placed "the" only makes things funnier. More on topic, it is odd to think that social media is helping place power back in the hands of the consumer. We've stepped into a bizarre reality in which corporations demand rights while trampling on the rights of customers as well as employees... I guess this is getting into rant territory rather than an example of customer service. Let's see... my 3-year old was exceptionally kind and gracious when she served me imaginary ice cream this morning... that counts, right?
ReplyDeleteThanks, urbanrubble. It sounds like your three-year-old may have been using graciousness to make up for the lack of substance. Then again, think of all the cost and calories she was saving you. You got most of the benefits of sharing ice cream without any of the drawbacks. I'd say she's a marketing genius!
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