Social Media Vigilantes
Mitch Joel writes an interesting post Does A Social Media Vigilante Mean Equal Customer Service Justice For All? where he talks about social media vigilantes who name names in trying to build their own brand and obtain some form of resolution, retribution and/or compensation for poor service.
Mitch takes a different path and chooses to use his base to educate through highlighting issues, not companies and the fact patterns, responses and implications of the responses as opportunities for learning. By not creating sensationalist headlines that leverage brand names, Mitch highlights issues which becomes a positive force for change in an engaged way. Screaming at companies “Hey look at me and my crowd” while demanding things is not an easy way to win friends and influence results at a company. Most companies see the result as setting a precedent for others to follow and feel they are “damned if they do and damned if they don’t.”
Companies die for great customer relationships and customer loyalty. What is important is that companies move in lock step with their customers and stay attuned to their needs, wants and requirements. Just listening as in reading blogs is not enough for a company – they need to be engaged with their audience in many ways including an environment that incorporates a dialog and feedback long before the Sh*t hits the fan in a blog.
One expects a certain value from a transaction – you pay for a service because you put a certain value to that service. If the company misrepresented the value or you did not get what you paid for, you have choices – seek a remedy; do nothing; never buy from them again; tell your friends; or a combination of the above. There has always been the doctrine of caveat emptor. Now we have Seller Beware. And that in some respects is not a bad thing as companies should be accountable and responsible.
The question is what audience is the vigilante playing to – their followers or the companies they are trying to influence?
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