Comments on: Responses: 5 minute question

By: Sean O'Driscoll

Sean O'Driscoll — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 15:03:22 +0000

It’s a great question, I think others have hit some key points. I like to communicate the following fundamentals:
1) Users are going to talk about your company, products, policies, people, licensing, etc…whether you want them to or not – This is not a decision you get to make.
2) The decision you get to make is whether or not (and how) to participate in the conversation.
3) You can’t control the conversation – in fact, there is an inverse relationship between the amount of effort you put in trying to control and your ability to control.
4) Once you’ve decided to participate, it should be as no more than an equal participant – per point #3.
5) The influence of the buying experience has fundamentally changed – or I should say evolved. Our peers have always influenced what we most wanted (products, services, movies, theater, resteraunts, schools, etc)…it’s just that historically our peers were finite groups with largely similar experiences and interests – therefore, by definition limited in their spheres of influence. Whereas communities, especially online, have democratized access to experts/opinion holders (not always the same) on literally every topic imaginable…and for some reason I still trust the faceless more than the vendor/mfg/”marketer”…I already know what every mfg web site says – “easy to use, low cost, most flexible, great support, etc etc ect” – it’s not really that I don’t believe, but I believe the collective community voice more.
Sean

By: Sean O'Driscoll

Sean O'Driscoll — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 13:03:22 +0000

It's a great question, I think others have hit some key points. I like to communicate the following fundamentals:
1) Users are going to talk about your company, products, policies, people, licensing, etc...whether you want them to or not - This is not a decision you get to make.

2) The decision you get to make is whether or not (and how) to participate in the conversation.

3) You can't control the conversation - in fact, there is an inverse relationship between the amount of effort you put in trying to control and your ability to control.

4) Once you've decided to participate, it should be as no more than an equal participant - per point #3.

5) The influence of the buying experience has fundamentally changed - or I should say evolved. Our peers have always influenced what we most wanted (products, services, movies, theater, resteraunts, schools, etc)...it's just that historically our peers were finite groups with largely similar experiences and interests - therefore, by definition limited in their spheres of influence. Whereas communities, especially online, have democratized access to experts/opinion holders (not always the same) on literally every topic imaginable...and for some reason I still trust the faceless more than the vendor/mfg/"marketer"...I already know what every mfg web site says - "easy to use, low cost, most flexible, great support, etc etc ect" - it's not really that I don't believe, but I believe the collective community voice more.

Sean