The social media has turned us all into a commentator, a
critic, a passionate advocate of the good, the bad and the ugly. Customers
today, are just scaring the living daylights out of companies. Not sure when
they are going to strike, companies cannot choose to be Frankenstein and allow
the hoards to overcome them. Complaining and letting the world know what went
wrong with your service provider has become a matter of duty today. And in this
environment, culling out the complaint from the tantrum creates a unique
dilemma, the kind of dilemma you cannot choose to ignore.
Social media forums like Facebook, Twitter and review forums
have enabled crowds to converge upon a brand and rip it apart or give it a new
lease of life. In an age where response and monitoring mechanisms are evolving
constantly, brands do not have a choice but act in the now. Real time. Sifting
the tantrums from genuine complaints becomes imperative because even with the
vast tools at a company’s disposal, they still cannot possibly address every
concern. Attacking the genuine ones with decisiveness and tact, and dealing
with tantrums with kid gloves becomes key. Failing which, social media could very
easily become a resource draining platform in more ways than one.
Over 1000 complaints turn up every hour across online public
forums and social media sites. Right from service delivery to a service executive’s
behavior is weighed up and attacked today. The customer is completely justified
in venting, but an unresponsive company is not justified in being aloof.
Companies need to take this opportunity they have been given by their customers
to start owning a forum that has in more ways than one, been created by them. Ignore
at your own peril.