2 Listening to Consumers 101
The roles of consumers and corporations have changedsignicantly since the rise of the Internet. YouTube is only thelatest manifestation of a broader trend: consumers have theability to voice opinions about products and brands, and thereis now little standing in their way.
Consumers have come to expect thatcompanies can and should listen to theirideas, requests and questions, and thatcompanies will
react
to this input. A broadrange of traditional companies—includingPurina, Mattel, American Airlines andComcast, to name just a few—havequickly learned the importance oflistening and responding to consumers.Companies are being held to increasinglyhigh standards set by organizations thatexcel at listening and responding, suchas Zappos, Geico, Starbucks, SouthwestAirlines and others. These companies aresetting the bar not just for their directcompetitors, but for all businesses thatserve consumers.Consumers who feel they are not beingheard will turn to other channels to shareopinions and express frustration. Manychoose the Internet—and specicallysocial media sites including discussion
Market Context:The Empowered Consumer
boards, blogs and online groups. Arecent Nielsen survey found that 73%of online U.S. adults actively participatein consumer-generated media (CGM) insome form. Nielsen Online’s BlogPulseservice tracks the creation of blogs—atthis writing, there are more than 91million identied blogs, and more than80,000 of these were launched in thelast 24 hours. Social media is an easilyaccessible forum for nearly anyone whohas an opinion and would like to share it.Companies today face an increasinglydifcult challenge: how to communicatewith consumers in a way that encouragestrust and engagement, in an environmentwhere companies’ statements and actionsare routinely dissected on the Internet forthe entire world to see. As consumers takean increasingly proactive and vocal role,marketers and brand managers now mustnavigate new and unfamiliar waters. Whatcan companies do to change this dynamicand open a door of communication withtoday’s empowered consumer? Theanswer to this question is complicated,but one thing is clear: marketers have alot to gain by listening to the social mediaconversation that is already taking place.
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