Time was that business success involved product creation, then marketing, then production and selling, then doing it all over again. But that's so 20th century.
The communications revolution that the Internet ushered in has added a powerful link in that value chain – social media. Feedback from customers can be immediate, and as the ethos of the Internet has evolved, brutal. Of course, if companies happen to hit on something that customers want, the blogosphere can amplify success.
But it is just as easy for companies to suffer at the hands of social media. A local case in point is Ava Anderson Non Toxic, the fast-growing personal care and home-products company that built its reputation on using ingredients that weren't harmful to users. But a backlash erupted, accusing the company of making false claims, and it was so harsh that the founding family has pulled out and is looking to sell.
Not all cases are this extreme. But businesses need to develop a social media strategy, just as they have one for product creation, marketing, production and sales. To do less would be negligent. •