Don’t Talk Out of Both Sides of your Mouth
By now it’s not news that there have been a lot of citizens sharing their thoughts and concerns about the national healthcare plan being discussed in local town halls (if you haven’t seen the videos, check some of them out on YouTube).
My friend Ken Yeung had an excellent post, What Happens When You Think your Customers Will Kowtow to You? (had to use the post name because I love the word kowtow), last week about how the AARP representative totally dismissed any comments or discussion that their members wanted to share in light of the position that AARP was taking in regards to national healthcare and sharing with them.
In short, the AARP representative told the members “we want to hear from you” and when they started speaking she said: ”Excuse me, but I really appreciate it if everyone could keep their comments quiet until there is time for the public…” By the end of the video, she was so mad that she couldn’t deliver her message that she walked out on the members. [Check out the video on Ken's post, it's quite interesting to watch.]
I don’t find any of the passion or discussions (some may call them disruptions) out of the ordinary at all. Why should I, right? We tell organizations everyday that they need to listen to their constituents and that they can’t push their messages, and that they are no longer in control of certain situations or their community.
But what did surprise me were the social media folks on Twitter talking about how these town hall discussions were out of line. Really?
I’m sure that Dell, Motrin, Dominos, Tropicana, Walmart, United and MANY more organizations felt that the discussions that their customers were having about them were totally disrupting to their business day. Right?
And yet, social media proponents analyzed their every action (or inaction) to death, shared their opinions on Twitter, their blogs and in conversation. These same companies are often used as examples of “what not to do (or to do right…after the fact). We tell companies to get with the program because this is the way it is today because ALL customers have a voice.
If you are going to be advising clients, organizations or management on social media, please be very careful to not pick and choose when you think customer conversations are acceptable or not…especially if they are based on your own political affiliation.
I understand that some people are very passionate about their politics, but I ask you to remember one thing: the government gets their money from taxpayers. That means, just like organizations, they need to be prepared for conversations, disruptions, and negativity because ALL customers have a voice. Right?
(It doesn’t matter if it’s on- or offline because eventually it could end up online anyway.)
If you embrace social media…don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth. You are either for open conversation and dialog in any form that it happens in or you aren’t. Which is it?
Thoughts?
[Image: Flickr, Boxelf]
Tags: 7 Responses to “Don’t Talk Out of Both Sides of your Mouth”
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It’s often a very sobering thing for a client to realize that now they have to face a 24/7 availability, but it’s a fact we must face. Our customers are online and voicing their opinion all day every day whether we like it or not and if we ignore them they will get LOUDER not just slink away into the background. They’ll be front and center and calling you out.
It used to be you could turn off the mike and go home after such a meeting and there would be some grumbling and that too would die out quickly, but no more.
We must set up guidelines for our clients to deal with this new availability and how to schedule responses before small incidents snowball totally out of control.
Janet´s last blog ..Is Your Lifestream Backed Up?
I agree that everyone needs to have a voice and speak their mind, online or offline. But I think the health care debate is not a particularly good analogy given many of these disruptions are organized specifically to drown out the other side. The operative word here is “conversation”. I’m all for feedback, even the angry kind, but there comes a time when I would like to be able to address the situation without being hung in effigy or harassed as I walk down the street. Happily, I have not had to face that situation!
Excellent point, Beth. Nobody likes social media hypocrisy.
I’d add one caveat though: if the “discussions” and protests are essentially orchestrated by special interests groups and touted as grassroots, it’s fair game to call out the practice.
Which gets back to your point about open conversation: there’s a huge difference between authentic groundswell discussion & old-school manipulation. Fortunately, the Web exposes – one way or another – that kind of deception whenever it happens.
A Democracy deserves passionate disagreement founded on civility and reasoning – when both are denied, violence isn’t far away.
Phil Baumann´s last blog ..Why FriendFeed Is An Important Tool
Perhaps I missed something but would it not be better to know about the conversations and what is being said then for the conversations to be taking place and not know about them.
Before the Internet the same conversations took place when you picked up your mail down at the ol post office – now i can have a conversation with a bloke from Australia and get a completely different view.
I believe the bigger question is out of all these “conversations” are folks really listening to them or just listening enough to try and shout above everyone else with only partial information.
With the new tools comes responsibility and some patience – lets not blame the tools how about changing “the way things have always been done” to embrace the technology?
Interesting. To be seen to be listen, you need to listen.
Spin, messaging and manipulating perceptions are all full time, paid up industries. Much effort goes into creating perceptions. “How can we be seen as a listening organisation?” “How can we create buy-in?” Sound bites!
Here’s a novel idea. If you want to be seen as a person who gives people cake, go out and get some cake and give it to people.
Alasdair Munn´s last blog ..Broadcasting your Social Media?
Great points you make here. With the emergence of all the social networking, it is true that all customers have a voice. However, we as marketers need to use this to our advantage and listen to their voice as instant feedback and improve our business model more frequently.
Why is it that these movements to challenge what these guys are trying to shove down our throat is all organized and they are being called disruptions and when the other side does it it is called community organizing for the good of the people?