There’s no doubt about it. The Internet has completely and totally revolutionized and altered our lives: instant shopping for the anthropophobiac crowd haters, immediate news updates from Twitter and news sites, video chatting with friends abroad in foreign countries, and cyber stalking and bullying thanks to MySpace and Facebook. Chris Hansen wouldn’t have the opportunity or means to combat pedophilia on his show, “To Catch a Predator,” if not for the chat rooms used to lure in disturbed attackers. And, we wouldn’t be graced with Justin Bieber’s mellifluous, canary-like voice if it weren’t for the Internet and his YouTube videos that catapulted him to fame.
Yes, the Internet saves us time and makes transactions efficient and quick, so we can work longer and have more free time. The Internet is our doctor, providing forums and sites that can diagnose and prescribe remedies; our banker, allowing us to pay bills and check our credit scores; and our unemployment agent, sending out our resumes and cover letters to potential employers. In this era of online dependency and convenience, we wouldn’t even have to leave our houses for years.
But, how does the Internet impact and affect companies and business?
According to the authors of “The Cluetrain Manifesto,” online and direct communication between the customer and the company is essential to the success of the business. Rather than being voiceless and lost in a sea of millions of consumers, we are allowed to express our opinions openly and honestly in blogs, comments and social-networking sites, where we can criticize and praise a company’s services or products in hopes of consistency or improvement on behalf of the corporation. “Cluetrain” condemns corporate bureaucracies, claiming that businesses have been disregarding the power and influence of the human voice and spoken word on the interconnected Internet.
The Internet has played an important role between customers and employees recently when news broke of a pharmaceutical company’s new recall.
In the past year, Johnson & Johnson McNeil has recalled millions of products and over-the-counter medications people use casually: Tylenol, Rolaids, Motrin and Benadryl. Many of these antidotal remedies are commonly and even impulsively used when the start of a negligible headache may be approaching, both across the globe and among the young and elderly.
As a result, the public and prominent news media have been exposing and documenting the downfall and potential resurrection of this company that has been manufacturing and supplying pharmaceutical items for more than 100 years.
Journalists are reporting on the damage and problems of these recalled products: tiny particles of wood and metals ingrained in medications. Editorials express professional and amateur opinions, and ignite debate. And consumers are blogging and commenting on stories about the recall, expressing their concerns about the potential hazards, their distrust, doubts, questions and skepticisms. Like “Cluetrain” encourages, people are communicating openly and directly, and spokespeople from Johnson & Johnson are responding.
The New York Times recently reported on the recall and combined all of these above elements in the story titled “Can Johnson & Johnson Get Its Act Together?,” exemplifying some of “Cluetrain’s” mantras.
In the article, Erik Gordon, a professor of business at the University of Michigan, said, “Nothing is more valuable to Johnson & Johnson than the brand bond of trust with consumers.”
The Times’ story also includes the opinion of a blogger, a mother who questions and challenges Johnson & Johnson products after the recall: “I don’t even consider buying them anymore,” said the mom Thien-Kim Lam, who asserted her opinions in the blog DC Metro Moms in the post “Makers of Tylenol, I’m Disappointed in You,” to the Times.
And to rebuild the trust that Gordon maintains is so important between the company and its consumers, Johnson & Johnson representatives are responding and using the Internet to reassure and restore confidence in customers.
Bonnie Jacobs, a spokeswoman for the company, said the company “will invest the necessary resources and make whatever changes are needed to do so, and we will take the time to do it right.” The Times reported that Jacobs sent this message via e-mail, employing “Cluetrain’s” axioms of utilizing the Internet to a company’s benefit and opening and linking correspondence with its consumers.
Jacobs also told the Times that the company is planning to “take whatever steps are needed to ensure our products meet quality standards, including further recalls if warranted.”
And the site also provides accommodations for readers to comment and articulate their thoughts, just like Lam did in her blog post. Even if you leave just one comment on one story, you never know who will read, process and apply what you have to say. With around-the-clock, worldwide access of the Internet, anyone and everyone can read your post, bringing action to your cause, wants and desires.
This kind of dialogue between large corporations with thousands of employees and millions of customers trumps any kind of embellished or biased advertising and publicity. Discussion boards, e-mails, chat rooms, reviews on websites all help to tear down barriers between the ordinary patron and the executives and workers producing what we use and ingest.
In order to really bulldoze customer anxieties and strengthen faith in its products, Johnson & Johnson needs to establish a relationship with its consumers, as the Nigerian pastor, Sayo, from “Markets are Relationships” professes. Sayo’s story and advice early in “Cluetrain” reverberated and lingered as I continued reading the book. When we create and maintain more individualized connections, we care more about the people involved. The Internet facilitates conversation, and conversation opens the door to trust and relationships, two qualities currently lacking in Johnson & Johnson products.
While a multi-billion-dollar corporation may not be able to personally reach out to its customers all around the world, the Internet may be able to bridge this gap by equipping both parties with the means to speak candidly, naturally and without any reservations. This honest dialogue gives everyone the chance to listen and be heard. Companies can read customer complaints; witness their patrons’ true stories of tragedy, fear and blight; and do something about it. Corporations should take action not because they have to for their bank accounts and finances, but because their customers have communicated with them and shared their personal accounts, like you would with a friend or family member with whom you have a strong relationship.
Would you sell your close friend or loved one faulty medication?
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