The Social Life of Brands

If a consumer created a blog to rave about your company and complain when he thinks you’ve made a misstep, would you consider him a dream consumer or a loose cannon?  Would you listen to his ideas, or demand that he stop?  Your answer says a lot about your approach to marketing and customer relationships.

This type of devotion is becoming more typical.  Some might attribute this trend — the increasing use of community engagement by marketers — to the rise of online social media:  Facebook, Twitter, fan sites, and social marketing Web s.....