Social Media and Brand Headaches
I don’t play guitar that much anymore, but I can still relate to what the guy in this video (via Faris Yakob) felt when United Airlines smashed his $3,500 guitar.
It’s a nice song—although I’m not that fond about country-style music.
The important this about it is that I see it as a milestone in how brands regard the power of social media. Of course, there was the Domino Pizza scandal (not that far ago), but that may have seemed as an accident. Now this guitarist comes and proves again not only the power of social media, but the power consumers get through it.
Customers trust other customers much more than they trust companies. And those companies that still think they are in control of their brand communication, are going to face serious headaches when they realized they’ve stayed for too long in an ivory tower and failed to be part of the conversation.
But first and foremost, companies should really re-consider their customer service.