How many times have you heard (or thought) “this is too risky. What if they say something bad?” when weighing the merits of social media for your client or product? The fact is, if your product or service fails, disappoints or inconveniences the customer in any way, count on them to say something negative.
Gone are the days when a disgruntled customer would simply write a letter expressing their dismay, creating the average impact of one boycott. Perhaps they would complain to a consumer group, and if merited, further action would be elevated. The response from the producer might be measured out accordingly using PR, advertising, and other modes of communication. More often than not (and you know this is true…), the complaint would simply be ignored.
Today the impact of a consumer complaint can grow to be something much bigger. Should consumer backlash hit popular social-networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, etc, they might gain massive attention, creating large negative brand impact. The combination of enablement, ease of use, and an audience ready to eat up any anti-corporate message makes for a bitter-flavoured recipe in most marketing boardrooms. The consequences fall anywhere between embarrassment to class action lawsuits.
Have a look at what Justin Callaway did recently: he’s upset with Cingular Wireless/AT&T because he claims the RF interference from one of its phones blew out a $100 computer speaker on his desk. (via Church of the Consumer)
Here’s the infamous iPod video from a few years back. It contributed to a public outcry and massive backlash against Apple, eventually leading to a class action lawsuit.
The relationship between the content’s popularity and the perceived offence against the disgruntled consumer seems to have little to do with money. In fact, the crazier the customer service rep or the more unjustly the consumer has been treated, the more viral the response is likely to be.
Should the attack be unwarranted, it’s amazing how your consumers will become advocates for you in these social media spaces. Acting like a brand immune system, brand enthusiasts will seek out these lie-spreading pathogens and destroy their credibility with their own experiences with the merits of your offering. They can do so in ways a company could never publicly do. Consumers can respond with the brute force, quiet sophistication, bitter irony or crazy out-of-no-where banter, cutting straight to the core of the pathogen.
The best way to grow a brand-advocacy immune system is to create a petrie dish for them to transform themselves in. The right social media platform will create a culture of collaboration and will grow with credibility as long as there’s something in it for the advocate. Successful communities doing this offer many things to the consumer looking to connect via the product, segment or enabled lifestyle. It’s the reason why they’re there, so help them flourish in it.
When the time is right, and the pathogens attack, your community will respond before you even know what happened, often thwarting the attack before it hits your desk as an issue.
Instead of asking what is the risk of social media, consider the risk in avoiding it.
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8 Responses to “The Brand Immune System”
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May 15th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
This is a great piece and yeah the community will be vocale if you lie about the brand they love.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:33 am
“Consumers can respond with the brute force, quiet sophistication, bitter irony or crazy out-of-no-where banter, cutting straight to the core of the pathogen.”
So many times inside a company we wish we could be that way. Conversations have the power to open two-way communications lines. What companies need to understand is that we’re talking about tools, media, space. Today, we do business differently whether we embrace those tools or not.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Dear readers
Apologies, but lost many comments here as we migrated radicaltrust.ca over to a new server. Please don’t take it too personally!
July 22nd, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Hello, Your site is great. Regards, Valintino Guxxi
July 23rd, 2007 at 12:03 pm
[...] time ago blogged on the notion of the “brand immune system” in social media. Check out the following article, published today at MediainCanada.com where [...]
November 15th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Collin
the thing I find most exciting about social media is the glimmer of hope that credibility, trust and accountability will be on the rise and with it elevate or sink the worthy/unworthy.
in the real world shouting will carry one’s voice 40-200feet diminishing at a speed of 640mph
in the virtual world that same shout will go around the world amplifying at a speed of 186,000mps
cheers
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:39 pm
[...] Doug steals Collin Douma’s thought on the Brand Immune System, combining two esoteric metaphors in a blatant attempt to confuse [...]
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:42 pm
[...] Doug steals Collin Douma’s thought on the Brand Immune System, combining two esoteric metaphors in a blatant attempt to confuse [...]