Word of mouth is an incredibly influential force for online marketing campaigns to harness. Research has shown consumers and business service-users generally trust peer-reviews more than advertisers or marketers, and in some cases from communities around EWOM communication (Cheung et al., 2008).

However, how far should marketers go towards ‘harnessing’ what Blackshaw (2006) calls “CGM” (consumer-generated marketing)? In his capacity as Chief Marketing Officer of Neilsen Buzzmetrics – the US advertising analytics agency – he suggests that CGM is a gift to marketers. CGM/EWOM provides consumers with trust, credibility, restraint and balance, which they no longer expect through traditional marketing channels.

The influence of reviews and online recommendations is precisely why overt discussions about “harnessing” CGM are, Blackshaw suggests, dangerous. Shill reviews, undeclared blog sponsorship, branded social media accounts – all act to make consumers doubt all forms of online conversation, which can only be detrimental to marketing efforts.

In the long-term, is it more important to listen to real and authentic views of our customers, to act on the insight and become better at what we do, or should we continue to try to ‘own’ our online chatter, and risk losing trust for good?

Blackshaw, P. (2006) ‘Commentary: consumer-generated media is fragile – don’t mess it up’, Advertising Age, [Online] Available at: <http://adage.com/article/digital/commentary-consumer-generated-media-fragile-mess/111679/> [Accessed 8th March, 2015] 

Cheung, C., Matthew, L. and Rabjohn, N., (2008) ‘The impact of electronic word-of-mouth: The adoption of online opinions in online customer communities’, Internet Research, Vol. 18 (Iss: 3) pp. 229-247

The field of ‘Business Intelligence’ has expanded significantly in recent years. Organisations now have the ability to capture large amounts of data in the course of business, not only from customers/service users, but also to record and store internal data about the business’ own capabilities.

Chen, Chiang & Storey (2012) write in MIS Quarterly about the current era of Data Analytics, charting the evolution of ‘Big Data’ analysis from the 1970s to present day. The article outlines recent developments in the field of Data Analytics and the implications this has for Business Intelligence. The authors note that through Web 2.0 interactivity, data can be sourced from social media platforms which can have a key impact on business activities. Organisations have the capability to interact with all stakeholders, transforming marketing communications from a ‘one-way’ traditional broadcast, to a reciprocal conversation.

The authors go on to extrapolate how Web 3.o may affect Data Analytics. Web 3.0 or ‘Mobile Business Intelligence’ allows organisations to use location awareness analysis to better understand users’ needs and make product or service offerings relevant in a variety of different contexts. Tools for analysing and creating predictions out of such large amounts of data are mainly in developmental stages, write the authors, but are being funded by stakeholders as powerful as the US Government. The importance attributed to Big Data Analytics for future business organisations cannot be understated.

In conclusion, the article suggests a large and widening academic and business research body of knowledge into Big Data, Analytics and the implications for business intelligence. What is not considered by this article, or indeed within much of the academic research being produced around the topic, is the ethical implications. With Web 3.0 and mobile tracking allowing organisations to market narrowly to the individual, how far should organisations be allowed to track us as consumers, and how far should we allow our data to be used to sell us things?

Source:

Chen, H., Chiang, R. H., & Storey, V. C. (2012). Business Intelligence and Analytics: From Big Data to Big Impact. MIS Quarterly, 36(4), 1165-1188

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