Power of the Consumer

Bank of America dropped the $5 debit fee that had been planned. Netflix nixed Qwikster spinoff. And the crowd goes wild. All over Facebook there are posts like, "They caved," or "Ha, we win." These comments are made snidely, with sarcasm and scorn aimed at these large companies doing their best to tread carefully in an ever-evolving marketplace. 

I understand the commentators. They have a yearning to right, to say "I told you so" in the face of poor corporate decisions. Yet, in reality, the corporations made the best choice a business can make- they listened to their customers.

The days of responding no longer exist. It once was the case that you would read about a new business model in your newspaper, maybe hear about it on television during the evening news. Then, if you were one of the few who were educated and concerned about said news, you would draft a letter with pen and paper, fold it into an envelope and place it in your mailbox to be received in the customer commentary offices days later.

How does response work today? It doesn't. Instead of considerate and thought-out responses, businesses are inundated on the Facebook pages, in their Twitter feeds and email in-boxes, on blogs and news sites internet-wide with immediate reactions to any and all considerations they may have. While as a society we may want to be ashamed or at least slightly concerned by our abrupt reactions, businesses are actually very lucky in today's world. Bad news or slander can spread like wild fire, but the same is true for positive PR.

What about big business ideas? Ten years ago Netflix (if they had been a booming business back then) would have spun off Qwikster, sat back and waited for the great response and two years later would have been earmarked as a failure. Today they propose a plan, get immediate and immense feedback and admit defeat in the new venture.

Is this something to be embarassed about? Ashamed over? Most definitely not. Since the beginning of time man has made poor choices and experience bad business choices (jeggings anyone?), but we now live in a time where the most horrendous of business choices can be halted nearly immediately by the power of the ever vocal consumer.

Have an opinion about a business decision being made? Don't hold back, but try to tread politely. And remember that whether it's an home office or a large corporation, the CEO is just another human being, capable of success and failure, just trying to make the best decisions she can.

The opinions expressed here are the blogger's and not necessarily those of the local editor's or anyone affiliated with Patch.