"You cannot satisfy every customer" the marketing manager said.
In a spirited discussion about the role of Web 2.0 in marketing, the conversation turned towards the large number of negative comments posted on websites and Twitter and such like. How do we know they are even for real? There are so many people out there saying what they want about our brand; we can't take everyone seriously. It could be competitors trying to malign us. Why couldn't the customer provide his mobile number in the complaint? Valid questions.
But are we trying to use these as excuses to delude ourselves that our customers are all happy and have no reason to vent their anger online? Are we using the (relatively) low penetration of the Internet (now) to treat it as a trivial medium? Most customers, when they have a problem, approach the traditional customer service channels. And most of them are willing to accept that a product or service could have a deficiency - nobody's perfect. What they do want are clear responses about what we propose to do about the situation and action to back that promise. It's only when they get automated responses ("thank you; noted; will get back; do not reply to this mail") or a stalling customer service agent ("our servers are slow/down; here's a trouble ticket #; pray") that some customers pour their sorrows in mails to the President of India or messages at mouthshut.com and Twitter.
In some cases, messages on Twitter / FB could cover issues / concerns that traditional customer service channels do not typically address ("xyz airline was late again #fail"). Marketers would do well to heed both types of messages. The first reflect angst or frustration that could lead to the customer not just complaning her case but becoming a brand un-ambassador (e.g. United Breaks Guitars!). The latter type are still not angry but gradually getting there. Registering the feedback and even involving the customer in designing a solution should be the proactive approach to managing the situation. Every dissatisfied customer we leave out there is potentially raising an army of other similar people and can cause irrepable harm to our business. The Web provides them the platforms. Do we want to provide them a reason?