A company’s circle of influence may have been minuscule in the 70s, but it was mighty. The first time my mom used Downy’s fabric softener, from a coupon, the liquid left blue spots on the wash. She fired off a complaint letter, via a snail-mail, to the company, who promptly wrote back “Sorry,” and sent her another bottle of Downy.
Not surprisingly, the generous free bottle did little to reassure my mom’s confidence in Downy. Her story spread, and sales of the product ceased in our small town — or at least in her circle of influence.
I learned this “news” by eavesdropping on her telephone conversations.
What if my mom had a Facebook page, and she shared photos of the blue spots with her friends? What if she published a blog, with thousands of Google searchers opening her page after entering the key words, “fabric softener coupons?”
Imagine how differently Downy would have responded to those blue-spotted photos? The bigger question is, would they change the product and make it right? That’s the issue that Social Media has brought to the forefront of business today. Social Media is synonyms with Social Responsibility.
Learn more about how your Facebook page, your Twitter profile, and your web page increases your circle of influence, and opens the door to accountability, here. Because, now you have our attention.
Adapted from my column for the SNP.