fear of joining in

May 9th, 2005

Tom Hespos from Media post recently posted an article about the issues facing advertisers who embark on a two-way conversation with consumers On Joining the Market Conversation

ADVERTISING IN ONLINE COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTS has always had its share of complex difficulties, not the least of which is a loss of advertiser control. Many advertisers have strict rules about the types of environments they advertise in, and often those rules are reflective of guidelines regarding editorial dos and don’ts. Such rules make it difficult for a media buyer to recommend advertising with an online community, as consumer-generated content can run afoul of editorial guidelines. Consumer-generated content can produce a negative brand experience. A negative comment about a product, service, or company represents the inherent risk in sponsoring or underwriting such content. But I would argue that for most advertisers, such risk is increasingly acceptable in light of the potential benefits of supporting user-generated content.
One of the central themes behind “The Cluetrain Manifesto” is that markets are conversations. The benefits to joining the conversation are many. Some of the best product development ideas can come from consumers who take the time to provide feedback. However, the biggest benefit I see is that providing a soundboard for your customers and leveraging that input in the form of actionable product and marketing strategy on an ongoing basis shows your customers that you care about their concerns.

All sounds like common sense to me.

Hespos also says

While a company may not want to participate directly in market conversations, those conversations are going to happen with or without its input. Participating shows a willingness to work with the consumer, an understanding of the importance of customer concerns, and faith in one’s own ability to create products and services that are relevant to customers and are as good as they can be.
It’s about time that we stopped fearing consumer control. We should embrace it in a meaningful way, which entails listening to the market and responding appropriately.

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