Among the treasured possessions that we all have as business people, reputation is one that is earned over a long period of time, but which can be lost in a day. The same goes for a company, and while a reputation may not be wiped out in a day, severe financial repercussions can affect a company’s ability to compete and win business for many years. Such potential risks are greater today that at any time in the past, with the Internet playing a huge role in the dissemination of information through the use of chat, email, blogs, news groups, video, IM and other forms of communication.
Pre-Internet, companies were largely in control of their own destiny and able to create and disseminate a branded look and feel of the company in a broadcast mode. The message was transmitted using traditional means (print, television, radio), and crude measurements were taken to determine the effectiveness of the message.
With the arrival of the Internet, users were given the ability to connect to major companies and view their websites. With the inclusion of FAQs and sometimes email connectivity, the consumer was able to forge a link with a company and obtain information that the company deemed suitable for general distribution. Accurate counts of user interactions were possible, giving a degree of granularity to previous estimates.
Consequently, as functionality increased with the arrival of IM and chat, external communication developed that was outside of the company’s control. Discussions regarding a company's brand in images, reports and dedicated forums created an online melting pot of viewpoints. Naturally, some users were favorable towards a brand and others were not.
Blogs took the interactivity to the next step by allowing the inclusion of video, images, text, links and feedback. Viral discussions developed online while a company could do little except watch or execute traditional media response plans. Little could be done to influence the discussion, and some heavy-handed attempts to interject were met with very negative results.
In order to understand and measure the levels of feeling in the online world, brand management services have developed that will monitor and present a consolidated viewpoint on public commentary.
Notable examples are Cymphony, CyberAlert, eWatch from PRNewsWire, CustomScoop and Comscore. However, there is substantial work to be done in understanding the online mood and guiding communications along a more favorable route.
Negative areas need to be disenfranchised while positive messages need to be created that address issues in terms that the community will accept. The days of the well-worded reaction from Corporate Communications are gone.
Today’s messages are contained subtly in video, audio, music and found in both the major content repositories as well as with niche (but trusted) sources. “Conversational Marketing” is developing as a framework within which this work will proceed.
