The power (online) of an unhappy customer
Some excerpts from a great NY Times report about online detractors, and how PR companies are addressing the 'problem':
The Internet and affordable digital technology have made its far easier for detractors to contact and mobilize sympathizers, as the presidential candidates found this year: MoveOn.org was critical of President Bush, and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth posed a challenge to Senator John Kerry.
Now some public relations agencies and research companies are studying determined detractors, dividing them into different groups defined by motivation, monitoring their complaints and trying to help corporate clients decide how to react.
BuzzMetrics, a New York-based specialist in word-of-mouth marketing, has developed proprietary software to scoop up information on trendsetters and potential influencers as they travel the Internet, posting messages on bulletin board sites, updating personal Web pages and sharing information through e-mail mailing lists.
Web-savvy agitators have used the Internet to great effect, with sites like www.ipodsdirtysecret.com (contending that the battery in Apple's
iPod lasts only 18 months, cannot be replaced by the user and, at the time, cost $250 to have it replaced by Apple), www.ihatestarbucks.com (criticizing Starbucks on a number of issues) and www.watchingmicrosoft.com (a compendium of news and Web links critical of Microsoft). "One determined detractor can do as much damage as 100,000 positive mentions can do good," said Paul Rand, managing director at Ketchum Midwest in Chicago, part of the Omnicom Group. "In the same way that we need to understand who the positive influencers are, it is becoming even more critical to identify and manage determined detractors."
"The technology puts the power of the press into the hands of the everyman," he added.
Mr. Rand, the Ketchum executive, said classifying detractors helped companies decide whether and how to react. The Neistat Brothers come from the "hear me" school, a group that can often be assuaged by acknowledging their concerns and ameliorating any problem, he said.
Left unchecked, "hear me" types can become "reputation terrorists" who have a personal interest in publicly criticizing a company, Mr. Rand said. "These are the folks we have to track and stay on top of," he said. "To not do so can cost money."
There are, finally, "competitive destroyers," who may even be competing companies willing to slander a rival, Mr. Rand said. Companies can protect themselves against this group to some degree by making as much truthful information available as possible.
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