Or why brand building beats crisis communications…
Now here’s a company that learned about engaging in online communications the hard way. This is a classic case study that dates back to 2005/2006.
What started with a blog post of one person, caught fire on the Internet and ended up with ‘Dell Hell’ as the most highly ranked Google search term associated with Dell for some time.
As you can imagine, even the biggest corporations would hear this wake up call. After some time, they did. Dell opened up, started a blog of their own and invited people to share their thoughts, ideas and complaints.
By listening, engaging and acting upon what people had to say, Dell went from ‘Dell Hell’ to an incredible loyal community on it’s sites. Jeff Jarvis, the catalyst for this wake up call, even ended up as one of their biggest advocates.
The lesson learned? Don’t let others drive your business strategy. Online communities can be powerful brand advocates, or critics depending on whether you interact with them openly or not. Be proactive, listen, engage, and build brand advocates!
Should you want to know more about this case study, check here, here [PDF] and here.
I am Michiel Gaasterland. Founder & Marketing Leader at