RBR/TVBR receives lots of press releases from The Nielsen Company about its various products, but we think this is the first time for a book pitch. Just released is “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000,” by Pete Blackshaw, Executive Vice President of Digital Strategic Services, Nielsen Online, and published by Doubleday. It argues that consumers hold all of the power in today’s Internet-driven world. A single disgruntled customer, for example, can broadcast her complaint to an audience of millions via online word of mouth: blogs, social networking pages, message boards, product-review sites. As such, a company’s brand credibility now depends more than ever on how well it listens to and responds to its customers. In short, good customer service can be a company’s best form of marketing.
