By Nick Krewen
Ben McConnell, co-author of Consumer Evangelists
and his brand new book, Citizen Marketers,
notes that corporations had better be
wary of the power that consumers now
hold, predominantly because they have
the opportunity to expresses themselves
on the global forum known as the Internet.
During his presentation, McConnell noted
that if consumers aren't happy with a product
or a service, they will let the whole world
know about it via word of mouth.
Only the "mouth" in this case
is one with a widespread network: the Internet.
And the company that suffered the backlash:
Dell.
McConnell told the story of Jeff Jarvis,
a former critic who ordered a Dell laptop
and found his model to be faulty. After
a technician dispatched to his home couldn't
fix it, Jarvis was put off by the experience
and lambasted Dell is his daily blog.
His complaints touched a nerve with the
general public and other dissatisfied Dell
customers, who also complained of poor
customer service. The action created such
a ripple that Dell's stock price dropped
45% and the company was forced to devote
$100 million to improve its customer service.
McConell defined the power shift as being
powered by four types of people: Filters,
Fanatics, Facilitators and Firecrackers.
Fanatics, McConnell says, "are true
believers, evangelists" that usually
rally to a cause they're passionate about.
Filters are people who package and summarize
information about companies and brands,
are usually objective and act as monitors.
Facilitators create communities and their
main marketing tool is the Bulletin Board
or community software, using forums to
communicate either compliments or complaints
to particular brands or companies.
And
Firecrackers are exactly at they sound
- one-shot wonders who explode and disappear,
making a lasting impact.
McConnell says most citizen marketers
have their work defined by three traits:
personal expression, free contributions
and the fact that they're amateurs.
They
are publisher, distributor and syndicator.
As
for the 1%, McConnell links them to outlaw
motorcycle gangs: the rebels who act independently
of the masses and often receive little
recognition for it.
McConnell identified Wikipedia -- the democratic
Internet encyclopedia that allows everyone
to be a contributor -- as an example of
the 1% rule, where the minority is inspired
by fun and where inequality is celebrated.
So what McConnell suggests is a simple
truth: You, as a citizen marketer, have
a greater sphere of influence than you
previously imagined.
Whether you're in the majority or in the
minority, you can stand up and make your
voice count -- and in the case of commercial
enterprises -- affect the types of changes
you want.
It's a whole new interpretation of the
term "consumer demand."
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