A few weeks ago I predicted that 2012 would be the year of the “Twitter Big Stick” in Kenya: a time when both politicians and large organizations feel the force of feedback from social media.
I pointed out that the reason for this is that the little people – customers, users, voters – now have networked little devices in their pockets. Most of these mobile gadgets have cameras attached, and are connected to global social media platforms. A single tweet complaining about your organization can therefore reach tens of thousands of people in just hours, if not minutes.
Don’t believe me on this one, Kenyan CEOs? Well, it’s already happening.
In recent months, many corporations have had to undertake humiliating U-turns after new proposals caused social media explosions. Take Netflix in the US. This very successful company suddenly announced plans to split up its businesses and charge more for each service. The resulting Twitter uproar amongst its user base was deafening, with thousands threatening immediate cancellations. Guess what? The company reversed course, but the damage was done.
Bank of America announced a new $5 monthly debit card charge – but changed its mind fast once a social-media storm focused its attention. Gap was forced to recall a new logo – after seeing all the derision it excited. Verizon’s ill-thought-out $2 online-payments charge didn’t even make it past 24 hours. And HP announced plans to ditch its personal-computer business – but found surprisingly high levels of support for its PCs on social media, and decided to keep the division going (after dumping its CEO instead).
Are these all foreign examples, not applicable here, I hear you saying? Well, Kenya Power faced widespread derision from its customer base online when it launched a new brand – minus any appreciable improvement in customer service and supply reliability. Local ISPs who use blatantly misleading marketing in launching new offerings are feeling the heat every day.
A localized dispute between business directory Mocality and Google here in Kenya last week took just hours to spread around “Twitterville” and elsewhere, and was all over leading global online news media the same day, forcing Google to issue a quick apology and the promise of a thorough investigation.
So don’t doubt it: the Twitter Big Stick is swinging. If your organization routinely frustrates its customers, makes them swelter in queues, mis-sells its products, or allows its staff to engage in anti-social practices – await the online caning. Which will be very, very bad for your reputation and your business.
What this heralds is a startling sea-change in the relationship between organizations and their customers. The little Davids are able to connect virtually in a way they never could physically, and teach many a Goliath a stinging lesson.
Is this always a good thing? No, because abuse is possible and in some cases consumers should not have so much say in company decisions. However, in an environment where customer abuse is rampant and bad service the norm, the social-media firestorms will mostly do a great deal of good. Businesses will be forced to remember why they exist in the first place – to deliver unique value to customers.
Good organizations should prepare themselves now. Take a fresh look at what causes anger and frustration in your customer base, and act on it before you spark any uproar to avoid severe reputational damage. Be more honest and open in your dealings with customers in this new, more transparent world. Embrace feedback, no matter how robust, and use it to become better and stronger. Think hard about your own social-media presence and strategy.
The good organizations who care about their reputations will be the first to use this development positively. For the rest, only prolonged online caning will discipline them. It should be a fascinating year.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Sunny!
It is true that the social media is highly effective in customer focused organizations.
But, others like Telkom Kenya (Orange Brand) seem not to be bothered. In this day and age, their technicians will put customer landlines into disuse for as long as they wish, most likely expecting to be sweet talked to. (This is sadly real). When matters are reported to the managers in the offices, things just turn from bad to worse. The same techs are asked to unmess their messes. How can they? Does social media help in such situations really?
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Sunny Bindra Reply:
January 22nd, 2012 at 10:02 pm
Mwangi:
Quite true: as I have been saying on Twitter, TwitterBigStick works most easily on people who actually care about their brand and reputation, and feel some sense of social responsibility. However, concentrated social media attacks can accelerate the demise of corporations that simply need to die. If customers are influenced by social media firestorms, their abandonment of particular brands will be accelerated. The landline business, as currently run in Kenya, is a dying business. Bad behaviour by technicians and managers, combined with social media campaigns, will only hasten that end.
So it is still worth making your points for or against ANY organization on social media. If they gain enough traction, eventually results will happen.
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Kenya Airways, arguably Kenya’s most visible brand within and without, has evidently enough disgruntled passengers that a Facebook group named “Boycott KQ!! Boycott Kenya Airways!!” was set up some time ago. The 305-strong membership may not seem large but negative sentiment doesn’t work on numbers.
Although there are some positive remarks I can see no obvious KQ representation – missing a trick there.
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True, Sunny, consumers are becoming more vocal on social media with valid examples that you’ve cited. However, unlike in the US, the Kenyan examples don’t result in any remedial action on the part of the businesses that get named and shamed. Do you envision this changing? Will they start to care about brand perception, or will we just continue to tap our fingertips raw on our networked Little People gadgets, with the only result being finding consolation among others venting on social media?
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Sunny Bindra Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Mo:
I know you are following this on Twitter, and can see the rapid uptake and the response from many corporates? For how long can they ignore social media if numbers keep growing? They will be forced to respond and remedy. It will take time, especially for the more egregious organizations. But watch the impact.
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Mo Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
One thing that’s positively impressed me (I don’t know what the opposite of #TwitterBigStick is) is Safaricom’s online customer care team. My experience is that it’s quicker to get an issue resolved via twitter than by phoning in. Two days ago, my post-paid data line was barred erroneously although I had made payment. I phoned in and they told me they would forward the issue to the tech. team and I would get feedback within 24 hours. I tweeted and my line was unbarred in under 1 hour.
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As competition intensifies, great service expectation follows, which will inevitably lead to more consumers acting on their right to vent when their expectations aren’t met.
Also, improved connectivity and mobility have led to all of us expecting more due to what we witness and experience in other countries and it is therefore only a matter of time, before instant and widespread online backlash against poor service catches up here too.
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This is so true in this century!
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