Keep It Tidy
You go out for an evening with a few other folks and everybody is in a good mood. The positivity is self reinforcing and you have a rocking time. The following week, even with the same friends, the results are different – somebody is in a sour mood and it brings down the whole group. We are amazingly impacted by the emotional condition of our companions.
I recently ran across a study that validated this phenomenon empirically. But, the surprising finding was that it is not just your circle of friends who influence your affect, but it is also individuals within the circles of friends of your friends, and the circles of friends of your friends’ friends that can also have an impact on you. Two or three degrees of separation and the impact on your emotional well being is still possible.
Apparently good moods and bad moods are viral.
This is certainly no secret within the customer facing business world. We have known for quite some time that a dissatisfied customer can go a long way in hurting the reputation of your business, potentially spreading their negative view to as many as 50 people. But the stakes are now higher with the advent of social networking. Negative views of your business can spread like the parvovirus on a cruise ship. Blog sites and the easy ability to capture and share opinions can turn that 50 people into 50,000 with the stroke of the enter button.
So, the question is, what are you doing about it?
In the old days we ran customer satisfaction campaigns and either corrected problem areas or made offers to unhappy campers with free goods to buy back some happiness. This fundamental approach for feedback is still essential, but not sufficient. Feedback also needs to be incorporated into social networking.
There appear to be a number of alternatives for customer feedback 2.0 and the right set for your business will likely require some experimentation. My advice is to put an individual in charge of this who truly understands the process and power of social networking. You will need to be in the right blogs and will need to use the right hooks and they will differ based on your brand and your audience.
Hospitality and travel tries the hardest at soliciting my feedback. But I confess, I really don’t reply much to Hilton or Starwood when they send the unrelenting e-mails requesting input on my experience with their pillows. I am more reliable on ebay where I am a member and feel more accountable to provide feedback. I really like sites that include customer reviews of products or restaurants and I pay close attention to the critical comments. However, they are not enticing enough for me to put significant effort into providing input in return. It is a complicated situation.
Customer generated content is becoming the norm for our new world order. Control over that content may be elusive, but letting it happen without any intervention is not in your best interest. Best to do what is needed to put your best foot forward, especially if there has been a stumble.
On that note, please feel encouraged to leave your views in the comments section provided on this site.