In this "new study" it is apparent that anyone like myself who has a blog or knows how to type can talk about whatever they want.  There is no break through data here, however here it is again incase you haven’t seen it.  Here in lies the challenge and the opportunity.  The challenge is some comments about our products and services might not be so flattering as in my previous post about Columbo Yogurt reducing their container size by 25%……details.  The opportunity is if the marketing company replies with authenticity they can probably have a cleint for life who will tell others.  For example, Columbo Yogurt could say that the serving size of 8 ounces is too much for the average individual……I would agrue that but so could they.

In this new study here are a couple of interesting data points:

•    59.1% of respondents use social media to “vent” about a customer care experience

•    72.2% of respondents research companies’ customer care online prior to purchasing products and services at least sometimes

•    84% of respondents consider the quality of customer care at least sometimes in their decision to do business with a company

•    74% choose companies/brands based on others’ customer care experiences shared online

•    84% of respondents consider the quality of customer care in their decision to do business with a company at least sometimes

•    81% believe that blogs, online rating systems and discussion forums can give consumers a greater voice regarding customer care, but less than 33% believe that businesses take customers’ opinions seriously

•    Search engines are the most valuable online tools for this research, according to respondents. Those rated of no value include micro-blogging sites like Twitter or Pownce (39%), YouTube (27%) and social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace (22%)