Give the Customer What They Want

I recently read an article about using your customers as a means for improving your customer service and products by treating customers as co-authors and not targets. This is achieved through social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The article notes how this is a genius idea because it's effective, inexpensive, let's the consumer feel heard, and allows your consumer to create products and ideas for you. I completely agree with the article. By allowing your customers to feel that they are an integral part of your business, you are creating customer loyalty. People want to feel that their opinions are not only heard, but that they matter. The fact that it is inexpensive to operate this way is really a win-win for both the consumer and the business. However, it could be argued that there are some downsides to this idea. Businesses today are subject to the wrath of dissatisfied consumers online. Even if businesses don't have their on website for customer service complaints, which is unlikely, consumers can still tweet and post about it. It's also risky to let consumers come up with new products and ideas, because they may come up with something that is too expensive or just isn't feasible for your company to do, but the idea may be popular with all of your customer base, so you're left with two options. One, refusing to do the idea or create the product, and potentially losing customers. Or, two, going ahead with the product or idea despite your company's reservations, and potentially losing revenue. Even with these downsides in mind, I still believe that this is a good idea. It's easier to sell to an audience when they've had input on what it is that they want to buy.