Social Media– Listening to your customers

The recent fur ball with Target and age inappropriate clothing is a really good case study about why you need social media, and why you need to listen, listen, listen (and monitor your pages).

For those who haven’t followed the story, a parent complained on Target’s Facebook page about the “trampy” fashion for young girls at Target, and attracted a storm of agreement, bringing Target into the media spotlight.

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/social-media-shift-in-business-20120814-246vp.html

While this public storm may seem detrimental to Target’s image, handling it well has helped them build their brand profile, and they are now aware of the number of customers who feel that way, because social media is a way they can hear their customers.

I shopped there last year and came home remarking ‘not so much want to get laid as want to get paid’, but Target can’t hear what I bitch to my friends, they can however listen to what is said on their Facebook page.

But like Target, you need to watch what is happening, take a deep breath, wait until you are calm, and respond reasonably and appropriately.