Who says you shouldn’t let your customers talk about your products?

One of the common things that clients often reject from the outset is allowing customers the ability to post comments and questions regarding their products on their websites. The fear is that consumers with a vendetta towards the brand will post extremely negative comments hurting the overall brand image. So it’s interesting to see that Ford has teamed up with Yahoo as to allow the general public the ability to ask questions. Mind you it is a daring exercise but there’s wisdom in what they’re doing

Customers will ask questions, make comments and want information regardless of you wanting them to. People will search and seek out the information either for the cars they own or as research for a new purchase. The question is where do you want this information to come from in the first place? Do you want your user base contacting people in discussion forums where bitter former customers may feed them false, biased (i.e. anti-Ford) commentary and making suggestions leaning towards competitor products? Or do you want these dialogues to be held in your venue where you have control over what’s posted and said?

The reality is by allowing commentary on your product and on your site with full transparency you open the window for a new avenue of customer service. You can have your staff monitor the discussions and provide assistance when needed. But in addition you’re theoretically outsourcing your customer service department to the wider web. You have the general public responding to other customer’s questions and concerns, probably quicker and more accurately then internal staff could possibly ever do. Thus this creates a win-win scenario. The person having the issue such as: “My horn doesn’t work on my ford focus!!?” within a day had an answer: “Perhaps it is as simple as a blown fuse.”

The Ford Answer Centre capitalizes on the expert effect. Wherein people always want to be perceived as experts in whatever field they love. This is what drives Wikipedia. As the site developers so too will the database of answers. With products as complex as a car it’s foreseeable that there’s many technical issues that have occurred and resolved that aren’t on the books. But as the site matures these product quarks will have been identified and resolved for people who have similar issues in the future.

Ford has embraced the reality of the online world. You can’t silence the masses; therefore have customers talk with you instead of behind your back. By having everything in an open transparent forum gives your company far more control over the message, then leaving that up to the self-control of the wild web. Control your brand - so you don’t let the web control you.  - Stephen Crooks

Visit the Ford Answer Centre