I recently had the opportunity to talk with John Ounpuu of Blast Radius about a project of his called Sutori. As companies such as AOL, Comcast, Ingersoll-Rand, and others know, new communications forums and online spaces are allowing consumers to express themselves in new ways and through new avenues. It seems to me that there is a real opportunity for companies to make genuine and transparent efforts at opening a dialogue with consumers, shareholders, and their constituents in spaces such as these. Apart from learning something from their customers, companies can go a long way toward building relationships and repairing fractured relationships and public image problems by just listening and engaging with their customer base. This has to be done transparently, without astroturfing etc, but there is real opportunity here. To quote Mr. Ounpuu: "...I would say to companies – get in there. Leave some comments. Join the conversation." I'd encourage everyone to check out Sutori and join the conversation.
Below are the questions I asked John, along with his responses. I'd like to thank him for taking the time to respond.
TF: The subtitle for Sutori is "The voice of today's customer." Was Sutori born out of the feeling that today's customer (and their experience) has been lost? With convoluted methods for reporting negative or positive experiences, do you find the natural urge has been to turn to blogs and social networks to express dis/satisfaction and be heard?
Ounpuu:The idea for Sutori came from observing some very interesting shifts in the balance of power between companies and customers.
Lots of things are fuelling this. First, I think there’s a real trust deficit among most customers these days. I’m thinking of the Edelman Trust Barometer here, which I’m sure you’re familiar with. :)
Then there are all of these interesting things happening online. There’s the sheer volume of information that’s available about products and companies—price comparisons, reviews, rants, raves. And at the same time life on the web is becoming so much more social. Now it’s all about participation. People aren’t just consuming information anymore. They’re creating it themselves.
And meanwhile, not surprisingly, many companies are finding it hard to keep up. Things are changing fast. For a hundred years there’s been this top-down media system that made it easy for them to at least fool themselves into thinking they could control what people thought about them. All that is gone now.
So yes, the methods most of these companies have in place to listen to feedback from their customers are not up to the job. And yes, many customers are opting instead to use this new power the web has given them to tell their stories to each other. They’re blogging about their experiences, posting videos on YouTube, creating hate sites or fan sites or whatever the case may be.
Watching all of these things happen was the inspiration for Sutori.
Our idea was to gather all of these customer stories in one place. And at the same time allow customers to connect with each other and then use these connections to amplify their individual voices.
And finally, we wanted to make sure it wasn’t just an echo chamber. So Sutori is also designed to make it easier for companies listen to what’s being said about them and learn from it.
Note: The Edelman Trust Barometer is a study put out by my firm, Edelman. It can be found, here.
TF: Profile creation, friends, and tagging gives this site elements of a social network. Are there plans to continue to build in functionality to make this a forum where people connect as well as have their voice heard? Is the ability for people to unite behind or against a brand enough to bring them together and sustain a community?
Ounpuu: I believe that the best, most interesting things happening online today are fueled by participation and social interaction. In fact, the same could be said about the most interesting things happening offline too.
So yes, Sutori is most definitely designed to help people connect on a number of levels and we have many plans in this area.
Your question about sustaining a community is an interesting one. First of all, I think there is room in a healthy community for different levels and degrees of engagement. I think we’re still learning a lot about what makes communities tick and I don’t pretend to have access to any magic formula.
Having said that, my hope is that, yes, we will be able to build and sustain a community.
But . . . I don’t think that uniting behind or against a single brand is what will hold it together. I think it will have more to do with discovering and exercising the power we now have to make have our voices heard. To put a dent in the world and make an impact. And also the fundamental human desires to tell and be told stories. And connect with each other based on things that matter to us.
One fact I keep returning to: every one of us plays the role of customer every day. It’s a fundamental part of life that, to some degree at least, we all have in common. I think that’s a powerful thing.
TF: What kind of opportunities do you see for companies, big or small, to engage in dialogue openly and transparently with users in this space? What do you see as the dangers? If the customer is heard, what do you see as the mechanisms through which these brands can respond?
Ounpuu: There is a huge opportunity for companies. As long as they’re ready to listen and, as you say, open and transparent in the way they engage people, I don’t think there are that many risks. It’s probably more dangerous to ignore what your customers are saying.
So I would say to companies – get in there. Leave some comments. Join the conversation.
The best scenario, for me, would be to see a company actually make some changes based on a story someone’s posted at Sutori. To fix something that’s broken. And I’m sure that will happen eventually.
The worst scenario would be for a company or their PR people to get in there and try to trick people. Pretend to be customers. Astroturfing, I think they call it. People are not stupid. They can smell bullshit a mile away. So I hope that doesn’t happen.
TF: What are your ultimate aspirations for this project? Do you see it moving in a certain direction, having a certain scope etc.?
Ounpuu: It’s still very early days for us. We have lots of plans. Ultimately, though, it’s up to users to bring it all to life. We’re just creating the frame. It’s up to them to paint the picture.
My aspiration would be, once again, to watch a story hit a nerve in the community and pick up momentum until, ultimately, the company reacts and makes a change for the better. In that case, everyone wins. The company. It’s customers. Everyone. Seeing that happen would make me very happy.
Comments Disabled