Customers with complaints have vastly greater options for making their case today. Social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, combined with community organization services like Change.org, make it possible for one customer with a problem to start a campaign that leads to change across an entire industry. The incidence of these attacks is growing, and large companies a learning to respect and fear the growing power of activist customers. This presentation, which was prepared for SugarCRM's SugarCon 2012 conference in San Francisco, previews a forthcoming book by the same name by Paul Gillin and Greg Gianforte.

1. Attack of the Customers!
Paul Gillin, Author
The New Influencers
Secrets of Social Media Marketing
Social Marketing to the Business Customer (co-author)
Attack of the Customers! (co-author, fall, 2012)

2. Diaper Disaster
“The biggest innovation for the
Pampers brand in the last 25
years.”
--Procter & Gamble, Feb., 2010
“I noticed that my
daughter's skin
was red and hot to
the touch.”
-Rosana Shah, May, 2010
Tweet: #SCON12
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3. Groundswell
Tweet: #SCON12
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4. Relief
“You can’t join a community at a time of crisis. You have to already be
invested in the community. That requires investment of
time, people, money.”
--Paul Fox, Director of corporate communications, P&G
Tweet: #SCON12
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5. Social Media Crises Reaching Mainstream
New Channels of Media
Complaint 10
8
6
4
2
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Where Crises Originate Blog
20%
Companies are quick to deploy the
latest social media technology, yet
most have not prepared for the
Twitter
YouTube threat of social media crises…we
18%
22% found that more than three-fourths
could have been diminished or
Community averted.
22% --Altimeter Group
Other
4%
Facebook
Data source: Altimeter Group, 2011
Tweet: #SCON12 14%
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6. Glass Houses
Glassdoor.com (left) enables employees to
review their employer and swap salary
information
The Consumer Products Safety Commission
now encourages buyers to self-report unsafe
products (below)
Tweet: #SCON12
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7. Weapons of Choice
I was amazed that my tiny
corner of the Web was able
to move people to take
action. That affected what I
say now
It drove home to me how much power I
have and how much difference my words
make.
--Jessica Gottlieb, jessicagottlieb.com
“Motrin will pay a MUCH bigger price, as opposed to if they’d messed up in
front of say, “Construction-Worker-Bloggers.” Mommy-Bloggers are not a
voice to be messed with.”
--Peter Shankman, quoted in The New York Times
Tweet: #SCON12
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8. Weapons of Choice
"I definitely never expected it to
become this big,“
--Kristen Christian, 27, quoted in the Los
Angeles Times
"I think we may look back in a few years and say that this was the spark that
caused a lot of people to say, 'Yes, credit unions are a better deal.'"
--Bill Cheney, chief executive, Credit Union National Assn
Tweet: #SCON12
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9. Weapons of Choice
"1,132 unitedworkers disliked this video.”
--One of more than 29,000 comments on YouTube
Tweet: #SCON12
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10. Weapons of Choice
Tweet: #SCON12
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11. Weapons of Choice: Hate Sites
Tweet: #SCON12
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12. Weapons of Choice
Tweet: #SCON12
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13. Four Types of Attack @DavidTabango:
Comcast really sucks.
Oh my god, yes it
does.
Casual Complainers
The background noise of customer relations
UsAirways sucks so
Risk: Low bad. Been sitting on
Activity: High tarmac for over an
hour. Initially said 5
Aggravation: Moderate minutes. Sigh
Strategy: Customer-focused policies
Verizon sucks !! What
the hell why don't
they fix the network
ugh *slams door*
Tweet: #SCON12
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14. Four Types of Attack
Extortionists
Motivated by personal gain
Risk: Moderate
Activity: Low
Aggravation: High
Strategy: Fight fire with fire
One B&B owner who felt "coerced" into
giving two customers their money back
says the travel website has become a
"monster".
--TheWeek (U.K), Nov., 2011
Tweet: #SCON12
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15. Four Types of Attack
Committed Crusaders
A Higher Calling
Risk: High
Activity: Low USA Today photo
Aggravation: High
“Molly Katchpole’s open
letter to Bank of America
Strategy: Facts and education to withdraw the fee went
viral. She closed her
account, cutting up her
debit card on camera, and moved
her money to a community bank.
One month and 306,000 signatures
later, she won: Bank of America
removed the charge.”
--USA Today, Nov., 2011
Tweet: #SCON12
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16. Four Types of Attack
Irritable Influencers
Throwing Their Weight Around
Risk: High
Activity: Low
Aggravation: High
Strategy: Remain calm, prepare
to fall on your sword
Tweet: #SCON12
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17. Attack-Proofing Your Organization
 Listen constantly
 Hope for the best; prepare for the worst
 Are your policies customer-focused?
 Empathy matters more than apology
 When you screw up, admit it
 Never make it personal
 Always take the high road
“Every company is now sitting on electronic quicksand."
Tweet: #SCON12 --Howard Rubenstein, PR guru
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18. Contact Paul Gillin
Paul Gillin Site: gillin.com
508-656-0734 Blog: paulgillin.com
paul@gillin.com Twitter: pgillin
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