Shift in Communication

Monday, October 5, 2009

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There is an enormous cultural shift going on right now – something that I expect will be chronicled in history as a major turning point in civilization. No, I’m not just talking about Twitter or Facebook; rather, I’m talking about the shift from organization-centric communication to consumer-centric or individual-focused communication.

In the retail setting, today’s consumers know a lot about the products and services they purchase. Sometimes more than the salespeople serving them. They source their own information, seek out opinions and reviews, and custom tailor the products and services to meet their needs. The Internet has opened a whole world of information, available at our fingertips – that’s not new.

What’s new is the ability for customers to read reviews or comment on products and services in the moment using smart phones that have Internet access. With Twitter, for example, bad customer service is regularly reported on the spot via cell phones or smart phones, reaching thousands of people. This is a vast difference from the days when poor customer service was reported to a few friends and family. Consumers are more influenced by peer reviews than advertising, so the impact is significant.

The point is; communication is evolving at breakneck speed. May we live in interesting times...

We’ll talk about this in future posts.

Posted in: communications, Twitter, Social Media