It’s obvious that, although social media isn’t exactly brand new (according to Wikipedia, Justin Hall was the first blogger in 1994 and the term “weblog” was coined in ’97), companies are still grappling with how to respond to citizen marketers. McConnell and Huba’s book “Citizen Marketers” Where People are the Message” is full of stories about corporations who’ve decided not to respond to what could potentially be some of their company’s greatest allies. New tales of companies shying away from interacting with these 1 Percenters are popping up all the time. All these incidents raise an important question: how do we get companies to change their thinking about citizen marketers and realize that corporations can no longer fully control the message?
One of my favorite points that McConnell and Huba make is this: “With the Power of One, Google never forgets.” This is so true. One company misstep, one missed opportunity to connect with a 1 Percenter, and the entire world will probably read about it…and will be able to read about it for years to come.
Remember what happened with Kryptonite Locks in 2004? This article from Wired gives a good rundown of the events that ensued. Chris Brennan, a “bike enthusiast and network security consultant” opened a pricy Kryptonite bike lock with a Bic pen. Brennan posted his experience on an Internet forum, and then additional posts began appearing on related forums and Web sites. Instead of directly addressing Brennan’s discovery, Kryptonite declined to comment. Instead, they talked about releasing a new lock design that is supposedly more secure. Brennan said he would never purchase a Kryptonite lock again. (And who can blame him?)
For obvious reasons, this is great example of a “don’t” when it comes to citizen marketers and corporations. Companies can no longer ignore what’s being said about them in the online space. And trying to ignore that conversation usually only hurts corporations in the long run.
This leads back to the point of “Google never forgets.” Try running a Google search for “Kryptonite bike lock.” Guess what? Not counting the sponsored links, the first link is to the Wikipedia entry about Kryptonite which, in the brief summary on the search page, mentions the Bic pen incident. The second and third search results are posts from the popular blog Engadget about the company’s locks being “hacked by a Bic pen.” The fourth link is the Kryptonite Web site. And remember that Brennan cracked the Kryptonite lock three years ago. Once this missteps occur, they don’t just fall into oblivion a month later….which is why it’s so important that companies learn to adapt to and work with citizen marketers.
So many companies don’t understand the idea of citizen marketers because they’re so determined to control their image at any cost, even if it means ignoring the people to whom they should be listening. McConnell and Huba give some great examples of companies who, on some occasions, didn’t quite embrace the 1 Percenters; check out the sections about “iPod’s Dirty Little Secret”, the woman with the “Slave to Target” blog, and Coca Cola’s reaction to the Diet Coke and Mentos video.
Although these citizen marketers are forcing many companies out of their comfort zones, the online conversation about corporations isn’t going to go away. Companies have to learn how to listen and respond to citizen marketers. Pete Blackshaw makes a great point in that companies must put themselves in the shoes of the consumer. It’s all about – as Blackshaw says – “listening-centered marketing.” But he also acknowledges that this isn’t easy.
Blackshaw writes: “But let’s face it; listening is hard. I’m not terribly good at it, nor are many of my industry friends who wave the “listening” banner. It takes work. What we hear can throw us off track. But without new frameworks for putting our ear to the consumer pulse, we’ll never get it right, and we’ll never have the benefit of conversation to inform judgment or “marketing optimization.”
