Examples of consumer empowerment

Although the name is pretty self explanatory, we want to give you some examples of how companies around the globe are coming to realize the market force that consumer empowerment is. Before web 2.0 appear to revolutionize the way everyone uses the web. Before web 2.0 companies had some room for mistakes, but blogs, wikis and Social networks like Facebook, You Tube and Twitter change that forever. Thanks to them users can generate and upload written, video and audio content. This type of content is known as user generated content and is the digitize version of word of mouth. No need to explain how crucial is this element (word of mouth) when it comes to customers relationships. Nowadays users, with their content, create a collective opinion or voice, that competes with voice and reach of government and commercial organizations, which have always try to control all information regarding their reputations. That is why the term is known as "customer empowerment", because it translates the power of deciding how products are sell and market from the companies and to the customers.

Understanding this concept and giving it the importance that it deserves seems to be crucial in today's world. Those companies that are not working with the consumer as the center of their universes, risk loosing loyal customers and even new potential ones. Lets use as an example Viagra, this little blue pill that caught everybody's attention from the moment it was out of the market. For Pfizer and, a lot of men throughout the world ,this medicament is a miracle worker, and the drug became as popular as a celebrity's sex tape on the internet. But popularity is double edge sword, because everyone was paying attention to the pill, every time a patient who was prescribed with viagra experienced a secondary effect, hard critics start spreading all over the web. The voice of those critiquing the pill overpower the voice of the pharmaceutical giant. Using the same example (Viagra), when the erectile dysfunction drug became popular hundreds of sites, commonly know as an online pharmacy, started selling generic Viagra, making possible for consumer to buy Viagra online which was cheaper and as good as the real Viagra. Using as an advantage the competition disadvantages, and creating content which reflects the downside of Viagra, so that user can pass on to their social networks, was the strategy.

In some cases, the consumers of a product are better qualified to help other customers than companies are. company expertise combine with Customer advice is paramount.