While most branding specialists will encourage clients to integrate their marketing plans, some clients are fearful of the very channels that will extend their brand. And the reason is this: when a business invites feedback from its customers, typically it receives it. And sometimes it isn’t ideal-note how easily we can rate the service in a restaurant, the fit of a shoe, or anything else. Some even feel that if the customer’s voice is truly important enough to sway a company’s decisions, then the customer has too high a stake in brand ownership.
But in-between owning the brand and harming the brand is an important middle ground. Poor feedback can be an opportunity to retrain service staff, adjust the design of a shoe, listen and respond. Customers are sharing information about brands across multiple channels, minute by minute, and wise businesses are using that feedback to reshape their strategies. So, maybe the best way to alleviate concerns about social media, while worrying less about who owns the conversation, is to consider the incredible value of a real, direct, dialogue with our customers.
