Pete Blackshaw coined the term “consumer-generated media” (CGM) to describe the tweets, Facebook updates, blogs, online comments, digital photos, YouTube videos, podcasts, and other media that customers around the world are using to share their business experiences with everyone else connected to the Web. In 2008, Blackshaw wrote,  “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000”  in which he warned that the rules of business-customer relationships have irreversibly changed. Whereas a single angry letter sent via snail mail could have been ignored, a single blog entry can now ignite a firestorm of furious comments that quickly blacken a company’s reputation.

What does that mean to your business?

1. Your customers are paying more attention to other customers than to your advertising. “The consumer is the new center of the universe [and] the cameras and microphones are always on and rolling.” (pp. 8-9, 48)

2. At all levels, your business must be honest, authentic, transparent, open to feedback, responsive, and validated by your customers. Credibility is the best asset your business has.

3. Your customers’ loyalty is not enough; you need their advocacy.

 What action steps can you take? Per Blackshaw,

1. Warmly invite feedback through all channels (email, snail mail, fax, phone, etc.), making it as friendly and easy as possible for your customers to share feedback with you. If customers feel you’re burying your customer service contact information or providing a maze of options on your call center lines (see www.GetHuman.com), then your company’s credibility will suffer. Note: Bradshaw practices what he preaches, providing his personal cell phone number on his website.

2. Rather than relying solely on paid media, strategically incorporate CGM into your media planning. Companies such as Nielson Online can monitor CGM for you, or you can mine it yourself through sites such as Technorati, Google Blog Search, IceRocket, or Digg. Strive to ensure that the online word of mouth about your company aligns with your own marketing message.

3. Respond to CGM quickly and on the customer’s terms. For example, when CNBC’s Mark Haines tweeted in late August that people were stealing his Cheetos, large bags of Cheetos promptly arrived on the set. Or when Facebook customers spent two days actively rebelling against changes in the privacy policy, a Facebook executive openly apologized to the community and promptly corrected the problem.  

As the title of the book suggests, your angry customers are more likely to go online and share their frustration with others – especially when they don’t feel they’re being heard. The most important one-word piece of advice that Bradshaw would probably give is, “Listen.”