How
transparent is your business?
How
companies need to adapt to survive the revolution
January, 2011 |
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Social media is revolutionizing
the way we communicate and to my idea it will seriously diminish
privacy, both personal and for companies. As people are slowly
learning to restrain themselves on social media sites, companies
will have to accept that in the near future all their actions
will be totally visible to the whole world, with serious consequences.
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We
have seen in the last century that the technological development is
increasing ever faster. The development from train to car to airplane
to moon rockets is a good example. This same increased development
is happening in communication. Where you would maybe be able to write
a complaint letter to your local or even national newspaper a couple
of decennia ago, you can now directly reach the whole world with your
complaint. Even better, people with the same grudge are able to connect
fast and efficient, often forming large groups complaining about a
faulty product or a negative action from a company within days.
Examples are Proctor and Gamble's new Pamper that gave a rash or Nestlé
being involved in destruction of the rain forest. My favorite is still
"United breaks guitars" the action of Dave Carroll, a Canadian
singer who went to YouTube to complaint about the fact that United
broke his guitar and never reimbursed him. (See Case
study)
His video spread like wild fire and within a week United apologized
and paid up.
The ongoing revolution in technology and communication will not stop
here. Look how the secrets of the mighty US government are all over
the Internet right now through WikiLeaks. Twenty years ago it would
have been much easier to stop the publication of extra secrets, but
now there is no way as organizations and individuals immediately setup
copy sites and copy documents at the moment they become public. Imagine
how the world, technology and communication will have evolved in ten
years from now: expect that there will be little secrecy and privacy
left.
And what companies still not seem to be aware of is that negative
messages will last much longer. When United apologized to Dave Carroll
for breaking his guitar, his video had been seen by about 150,000
people. That video has been copied by several people and after years
is still out there and has now been seen by over 10 million people.
Once the cat is out of the bag a company will have to suffer its negative
influence for years to come. It is time companies learn that a great
customer service, openness and honesty will go a much longer way.
What is your opinion? Will there be no more privacy in the future?
will companies be able to survive if they do not become totally transparent? |
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Social
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