How social media effects the relationship between company and consumer

Chapter 6 of Groundswell, a book about how to cater social media to your specific needs, the author places an emphasis on how companies need to create a presence in social media in order to truly listen to the needs of their consumers.

The chapter highlights the recent shift in the relationship between companies and consumers because of the encompassing nature of social media. It has shifted any company's ability to gain access into the thoughts of their consumers.

Before consumers were actively voicing their opinions on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and Yelp companies were relying on market research to gain consumer feedback. Market research however, while helpful, really only operated as a one way communication tool where consumers answered questions asked by the company. While this gave the company more control over conversation content it also limited the scope of the conversation. Consumers were only giving their opinion on what they were asked about, not necessarily what they really wanted to say. Companies were missing out on some of the most helpful information, the stuff they didn't know to even ask about.

Social media has completely transformed so many avenues of communication, including business. We are living in a rapidly changing society where the consumers have more control than the companies. The power is shifting and I predict it will only become more consumer driven in years to come. Social media's influence on society is only beginning.