Listen like Wheat Thins

You know, it’s got to be absolutely overwhelming for any organization, especially the well-known ones, to have to deal with blogs, Twitter, and other groundswell type forums. I mean, think about it – you’ve spent years developing a product or a service and, over time, you’ve been able to create quite a bit of genuine interest which has reflected nicely in sales. Your company is booming and has a relatively positive and loyal following. Now imagine, this new forum comes along that allows your customers to say a n y t h i n g they want about your company. All of a sudden, the good, the bad AND the ugly are out there for all to see. Now, of course it’s fair to say that a lot of this online chatter is a great thing – you’ve got customers promoting your product for you through word-of-mouth marketing. But you’ve also got customers who are ticked off, to say the least.

If you’ve been following my blog throughout this semester, you’ll note I wrote about a particular example of this in the past. More specially, I wrote about the Maytag disaster where Heather Armstrong blasted Maytag for their terrible washing machine and unsatisfactory customer service. To make a long story short, her negative Tweet led to Maytag contacting her directly to quickly resolve her problem in hopes of putting out the potential PR wildfire before it got too out of control.

I was struck, again, by this idea in the readings we’ve been doing lately in Groundswell. If you recall chapter ten, entitled “how connecting with the groundswell transforms your company,” you’ll remember the similar example that came from Dell. They, too, were faced with an irate customer who felt as though the in-home customer services fees he was paying for were not satisfactory. He believed that his product was a lemon and that when he went to utilize his in-home service, the Dell representative, “…wouldn’t have the parts, so [he] might as well just send the machine in and lose it for 7-10 days – plus the time going through this crap…DELL SUCKS. DELL LIES. Put that in your Google and smoke it, Dell.” (206).

Ouch.

In this example, Dell worked to fix his specific problem however, the new product they provided didn’t work! This led to another slam of Dell: “Is anybody at Dell listening? I know you are. What do you have to say, Dell?” (206).

So what does this say about how organizations must shift to start listening and connecting to the groundswell? The text provided a nice breakdown of what an organization should do to be successful in this category. First, they must start small and take steps that have a large impact. How can you do this? LISTEN. Listen to what people are saying about your organization. Then, once you’re able to create a plan from what you’ve heard, get the executives involved – provide them with “the ability to break down departmental silos and change processes to get things done.” (211). It should go without saying that organization change surely requires some shifting internally. It’s important to get everybody in the right place to ensure a successful implementation of the plan. Finally, be authentic. There’s nothing that will get a customer’s attention like an honest, authentic organization that they can trust.

As a final note, I want to talk about an organization that is one step ahead of the “listening to the groundswell” trend. In a recent campaign launch, Wheat Thins has been creating commercials dedicated to the comments that are posted online by their customers. Check out this commercial, and you’ll see what I’m talking about:

There are a few of these that were created and they are all equally as great! Wheat Thins is one step ahead of the groundswell. They are being proactive in their groundswell listening – so much so that they don’t want to wait for their customers to say something negative. They’re doing to play up, and recognize, those who are helping to promote their company through their positive posts of Wheat Thins.

Brilliant, Wheat Thins. Well done.

Take your shot at it! If you were going to Tweet about Wheat Thins…what would you say? Do you think that your comment would land you with a crate full of Wheat Thins at your front door hand delivered by Wheat Thins?!

Also, what’s your favorite Wheat Thin variety? Mine is Sun-Dried Tomato Basil…dip them in some cream cheese and BOY that’s delicious!

 + = DELICIOUS.