Jan
15
2010
The other day my wife called Comcast to transfer service, and see if they would be able to provide any discounts. After a quick conversation, the rep actually suggested we switch to our local FIOS provider. I found this quite funny, so I decided to tweet about it. I wasn't complaining, but I knew Comcast would see it most would most likely respond.
Sure enough, not 5 minutes later a representative wanted to know more details on the conversation so she could "review with management". I figured I would humor her and sent over what I had, and while I was at it asked about those discounts I wasn't able to get over the phone. Not 12 hours later I had a voicemail from them apologizing for my experience, and letting me know that reducing my bill would not be a problem. Fast forward through a game of phone tag, and I had a whopping $40/mo taken off my bill without a single feature being removed!
Some people find this surprising, but not me. I work for Visible Technologies and we provide the data companies need in order to do this. What we do is collect all kinds of consumer generated media (twitter, blogs, forums, etc...), apply sentiment analysis to it along with some BI analytics, and provide that to our clients. They can use the information to see what people are saying about them on the internet, and then use our software to help engage said user. (On a side note, if you are looking for a job, we are hiring.)
More and more companies are realizing that with the advent of social media, more power has been shifted to the consumer. Take for example my Twitter account: I have a measly 61 followers, BUT that is more reach than most people have off the internet. Add Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and any other site you want to the list, and the potential reach of one person is tremendous.
If you don’t believe me just look around for yourself. On June 14, 2007 an article entitled 22 Confessions Of A Former Dell Sales Manager was posted on the Consumerist. The next day it was on the front page of digg.com. Dell saw it, issued a takedown notice, and that also hit the front page of digg. As you can imaging, that move was not well accepted.
The following day (June 16) Dell actually apologized, and issued their own “23 confessions”. If you search around for sites that picked up the apology, you will find the overall feeling towards Dell changed and it literally happened overnight.
Still don’t believe me? February, 2008 – A story is posted of a person who sent his Xbox in for repairs, and was assured that the original case would remain unaltered. When he got his 360 back, he was surprised to see that the custom artwork was removed from the case. He claims they scrubbed it off, but even if we give them the benefit of the doubt and say they sent him a completely different one, it was still kind of bad move. It doesn’t matter if he made the entire thing up because Microsoft saw the potential impact, and made things right. Once again the general feeling toward the situation was turned around.
This kind of thing doesn’t just happen to stories that make it to the front page of popular websites. Businesses are no longer waiting for the consumer to come to them when there are problems. They have recognized that we have a voice and are trying to be as proactive as possible. This is a good thing – use it, don’t abuse it. Social media has become a powerful tool to make things happen, and as the saying goes: With great power comes great responsibility.
*Disclaimer: I am not claiming that Comcast, Dell, or Microsoft are clients of Visible Technologies. They just happen to make good examples :)