Did you ever sit in a business meeting when suddenly everyone in it started making great sense? Yes, I know. Those moments are few and far between. But they do happen. And when they happen, how many times have you heard someone say, “Is Anyone Taking All This Down?” A similar situation is going on today in business at large.
There are business meetings going on all the time. At every hour of the day and night. With almost all of them not being attended by the companies which are being discussed. What am I talking about? Social media. (This is a social media blog, after all. 
) Around the globe there are people in virtual meetings, talking about your company and your competitor’s company; and products and services. A lot of what they’re saying is “great stuff,” too. Stuff that could help marketers become more competitive. But is anyone taking all this down?
Apparently not. Why do I think that?
A recent article in Ad Age said that a survey by the CMO Council found that 56% of companies don’t have any programs in place to “track or propagate” (can’t they just say “create”?) positive word of mouth. Hmmm. They didn’t say anything about negative word of mouth. Sometimes that can be more valuable. Or do companies just like to imagine that there is no negative word of mouth. Hold on. It gets worse.
The same survey says that only 16% of the survey respondents said their companies have a system for online reputation monitoring.
No or at least very, very few businesses being discussed are attending these “online meetings.” What’s happening instead, is that business folk are sitting in company meetings opining about what the consumer wants when there are online meetings where companies could learn the mind of the consumer. Directly. No opining necessary.
It doesn’t seem quite right.
Yes. My opinion is biased because part of my business is online monitoring. But I’m in this business because I think it’s a fantastic one, with great opportunity for all who participate. And it makes so much sense. Monitoring just makes for an easier way to market.
Is anyone taking all this down?
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