In an interview with Francois Gossieaux of BeeLine Labs, Barry Judge says "to the extent that we can basically be human with what we know, and share it as freely as we possibly can, I think we'll go a long way towards gaining a higher or stronger level of trust with the consumers."

That is the crux of the concept of transparency and authenticity that organizations need to have in this day and age of rising competition for attention and time and commoditization for products and services.

In a recent post at his blog (do read the comments, there are excellent suggestions there), Judge quotes Robert Stephens, the founder of Geek Squad, saying "the easier you make it for customers to complain, the better your product will become." Socialize what you do and you will indeed improve how you interact with customers. That is what was behind Best Buy IdeaXchange.

What are they doing that is worthy of notice?

• allow people to complain
• make themselves accessible
• believe that good ideas come from anywhere
• stay open to suggestions
• understand collaboration and transparency

And it shows. If you take a look at his blog, you see that there are comments in every single post, and in some cases many, which is a sign that readers and customers are engaged, even when they post a customer service complain.

Social networks and digital media now play a greater role in influencing customer purchasing decisions than floor employees and so does trust in a brand when it's more human. With social media we have the ability to ask more questions, get faster answers, make comments and suggestions, and interact with other people. Now we can. Can your company work with that?

Valeria Maltoni | Conversation Agent
www.conversationagent.com
http://Twitter.com/ConversationAge