Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

Earlier this month Business 2.0 announced that October would be its last issue. The publication was expected to fold, but many supporters wanted to see the title either survive or be sold. One notable example of the grassroots support was a number of Facebook groups dedicated to saving the magazine, which was highly publicized and involved Business 2.0’s editor as a member. While this would have made a great example of a brand receiving a Facebook reprieve, unfortunately Time Inc. didn’t give in to the readers’ demands. For other brands, however, online support has meant a second chance at success.

Last month, HSBC rescinded its decision to charge interest on overdrafts for college students in Britain. Many of the students, who had chosen the bank because overdraft chargers were interest-free, reacted on Facebook by creating anti-HSBC groups and threatening a boycott of the bank. Both a union representing the students and the bank itself acknowledge that it was the outcry from customers that led to the policy change reversal.

Also out of the UK, candy bar Wispa (a product of Cadbury Schweppes) was given a second chance thanks to Facebook groups reminiscing about the chocolate sweet. Before social networks, the only recourse for a customer whose favorite product was discontinued was to write, call, or email, usually in vain. Today thousands of people, 14,000 in Wispa’s case, can band together and collectively demand their nostalgia not be ignored.

These anecdotes don’t mean that all companies should react to every demand coming out of Web 2.0 sites. Often for every pro-(insert brand here) group there’s a coinciding anti- group. Sometimes, though, having an ear to the online community can show you the inner workings of customers’ minds in a way you just can’t get anywhere else.