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The era of the social customer is here

So who is the ?Lalitaji? in your life? You know, the same Lalitaji who said, ?Isi main samajdhaari hai? in an early attempt to be the ?voice of the customer?.

So who is the ?Lalitaji? in your life? You know, the same Lalitaji who said, ?Isi main samajdhaari hai? in an early attempt to be the ?voice of the customer?.

Of course, today you have the stars; Shahrukh Khan selling Dish TV, Katrina Kaif recommending beauty products and Irrfan Khan as the common man selling insurance. Faced with such media clutter, what should a brand do to be heard? I suggest the new star of advertising: the common man; everyday people who influence their friends and family in their buying decisions. A movie buff friend who is a good source of movie reviews or a gadget freak who gives tips on electronics or simply that family next-door, whose lifestyle everyone aspires to, in short, keeping up with the Joneses.

“Keeping up with the Joneses” is a?catchphrase?in many parts of the?English-speaking world referring to the comparison to one’s neighbour as a benchmark for?social status?or the accumulation of material goods. To fail to “keep up with the Joneses” is perceived as demonstrating socio-economic or cultural inferiority.

This idea is interestingly bought out in the 2009 movie, ?The Joneses?, starring David Duchovny and Demi Moore, where the seemingly perfect couple Steve and Kate Jones, and their gorgeous teen-aged children Jenn and Mick, are the envy of their posh, suburban neighbourhood filled with huge mansions and all the trappings of the upper middle class. The movie provides a social commentary of sorts on how their neighbours try to keep up with the Joneses.

I?d hate to give away the story, but for the sake of this article, I have to share with you that the intelligence of the film is this amazing premise that the Jones family is really employed by a marketing services firm that is provided with an incentive for increasing sales of products that the Jones? recommend to their neighbours.

Not sure if I can get paid by the studio for recommending the movie to you, but the idea that you and I, today have the power to suggest, recommend and influence consumer behaviour is a powerful thought. Just take the social media revolution that has bought about a change in the way we buy things. Be it a product or a service, it?s painfully clear that social word of mouth has tremendous consequences for a brand. Over 140 character tweets, Facebook statuses and blog updates today define the fate of the weekend movie.

I predict that in this age of the ?social customer?; brands will have to rethink their ?Voice of Customers (VOC)? programme. With companies like Comcast and JetBlue in the US leading the way, customers increasingly expect that complaints aired on Twitter should be handled promptly by company representatives. And brands that fail to see this or check emerging trends before they turn into a public relationship nightmare need to take some learning from the ?United broke Guitar? campaign that went epically viral or the Caf? Coffee day incident at Chennai that went trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons.

So where do brands start the change revolution? Start by listening to what your customers are saying online. Conduct an ?online reputation audit?, and you will be amazed. Then step in ever so lightly and try to resolve the negatives, send them a flower bouquet if you can?t and admit that you messed up. Thank the ones that are saying good things about, send them a bouquet too. Do it gently, listening intently all the time. ?Humanize? your brand in the online world and you will be amazed by the results. Act like a ?Big Brother? and you will get clobbered very quickly ? just ask Nestle what went wrong with their Facebook page.

It?s not so much about technology or expensive solutions; they will only enable the process. But about applying what we?ve all learned growing up ? listen twice as much as you talk, that?s why God gave you two ears and one mouth.

The era of the Social Customer is here. Are you ready to engage?

The author is head-operations, EBS Interactive, India.

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First published on: 01-02-2011 at 02:45 IST
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