Make or mar brands in cyberia

Companies can ill-afford to ignore consumer issues raised online, say experts.

An enraged consumer waging a war against Skoda India through social media has taken the brand by surprise. “I will never buy a Skoda,” read a post signature of a member on a popular Indian auto discussion forum, Team-BHP. Harish Kanchan (who goes by the username harishv on Team-BHP forum) blew the whistle when a Skoda dealer in Mumbai, Nummer Eins, placed spurious parts worth Rs 4 lakh in his car. Kanchan, who has been fighting with Skoda for the last one year now, finally chose to post the entire incident on the www.team-bhp.com forum.
 

CAUSE & EFFECT
BRANDS	CONSUMERS	ACTION
SKODA	Customers blog on its ‘poor’ after-sales services, plan a class action suit	It has assured the customers of appropriate action
TATA	PETA demands Tatas suspend construction at the Dhamra port	No action taken, work is going on
DOMINO'S	Irate employees put nasty videos on YouTube	Company terminates their services,takes legalaction against them
KRYPTONITE	Users blog, saying its locks could be broken with a pen	The company recalls its products within 10 days
MICROSOFT	Is called the ‘Evil Empire’ on social media platforms such as blogs	It encourages its own employee to criticise the company in his blog and draw consumers view

The post has received more than 500 replies and over 60,000 views in less than a month. The post also carries a warning by Skoda that “hosting or publishing of such information (which does not represent all the facts) would implicate both Team-BHP as well as its various users in the ongoing court case”. Team-BHP posted the company’s reaction and started another discussion, which received 1,306 replies and over 100,000 views in just 10 days. The blog has now 42,000 users, and one can only imagine the dent made in Skoda’s brand image.

“I have got support from many other distressed Skoda customers through social media. We, some 20-25 people, are getting together to file a class action suit against Skoda in a week or so if it doesn’t take appropriate action,” Kanchan told Business Standard.

When contacted, a Skoda India spokesperson said: “We understand the importance of social media and view it as a very important medium for gaining valuable feedback about our brand. We track a whole host of blogs, online news portals and other social media sites to see what is being said about us, so we can address customer queries and concerns effectively… We have a robust customer care service that replies to threads on forums and blogs where customers have a specific query. By doing that, we are showing the customer that we want to engage and appreciate their feedback.”

Websites and social media platforms where individuals trade their feedback about consumer experiences are becoming increasingly popular. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Greenpeace have in the past used YouTube, an online video-sharing site, to gather mass support against Tatas’ construction of a port at Orissa’s Dhamra port in close proximity to the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. Both the organisations cited irreversible effects on the ecology of the area and specially the Olive Ridley turtles that nested at the nearby beaches. Blogs and online petitions were used to garner support from people across the globe.

In yet another global instance, a couple of disgruntled employees of Domino’s in the US uploaded on YouTube an enraging video of them putting cheese into their noses before adding them onto customer orders. Though the duo ended up with felony charges, the power of social media was once again proved beyond doubt as the video severely damaged the image of the fast food giant within days.

Harish Bijoor, CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults, admits that online platforms can be used in both negative and positive ways. “Blogs and the World Wide Web are widely trusted mediums. Mediums that are consumer-centric in nature,” says the brand guru. There’s a mob mentality to online social tools where people quickly try to add fuel to the fire, really encouraging brand damage and damage to individuals, he feels.

The historic case of Kryptonite bicycle locks, which claimed to be indestructible, was soon proved bogus by a consumer online. A bike enthusiast and network security consultant, Chris Brennan, showed how to open a Kryptonite bike lock using a ballpoint pen. “Your brand new U-Lock is not safe,” warned Brennan in a note posted on an online bike forum. Kryptonite shelled out $10 million in 10 days to recall its products.

Kiran Khalap, co-founder of brand consultancy Chlorophyll, says: “Sensible marketers are now using the same social media to promote their brands rather than fight them.” Microsoft was called the Evil Empire till it actively encouraged Robert Scoble, their own employee, to criticise their company in his blog. Scoble's blog, called Scobleizer, is now widely seen as something that helped Microsoft humanise itself and change its image of an arrogant and aloof company to one that is more inclusive and tolerant of criticism.

Brand consultants agree that choosing to ignore the issues and concerns raised by your customers online can result in loss of sales.

“Today, the Web 2.0 customer can easily start a negative blog about your company, or initiate a new topic on a public forum to trash your brand and even use the services of online customer complaint websites to hit you where it hurts the most,” says Bijoor.