Main image

Online Consumers Help Drive Reputation

7th March
2007
written by Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross

There is an article in Fast Company on buzz. CEO Andy Sernovitz of the Word of Mouth Association (WOMMA) mentions the heightened impact of consumer opinion on reputation. He is quoted as saying that one-third of the population has reviewed something online. That figure translates into millions of people buzzing about particular products and services.

I also read or heard somewhere tell me that they were handed a business card from someone at Toyota which had their title as Director of CGM (Consumer Generated Media). Although I am writing this in 2007 as if it were a phenomenon, it will be a commonplace title in corporate communications departments in just a few years. Consumers are getting their voices heard and impacting reputation like never before. This is probably a good thing. Now companies have to manage their consumer reputation in addition to their corporate reputation.

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Tags:
Blogroll

2 Comments

  1. Andy Sernovitz
    07/03/2007

    Hi, Leslie!

    Thanks for the mention.

    You’re definitely on to a hot trend … every day we’re seeing more and more companies giving someone the title “Director of Word of Mouth.” It one of the biggest signs that our industry is here to stay.

    Cheers,

    Andy

    P.S. Send your address and I’ll send you my new book – Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking

  2. Mel
    21/03/2007

    I used to do marketing and publicity for a group of restaurants in the DC area. We often used the “food boards,” like DonRockwell.com and Chowhound.com, to generate buzz for new restaurants that were opening, special events or new menus. The “foodies” were talking about us well before any of the press was.

Leave a Reply