Creating Brand Ambassadors with Digital Marketing

Whether it's a facebook page, or an area for comments on a company's webpage, providing an online public forum for consumers to respond, rate, promote, or criticize a service or product has transformed the way in which companies interact with consumers. It was mentioned in class last week that certain digital marketing tactics can result in a backlash of negative reviews and comments. While this is true, the negative feedback from consumers can also be seen as an opportunity for the company to further develop its relationship with its customer base. For example, there are many negative, one star ratings for hotels on travelocity.com. However, it is the hotel's responsibility to monitor these remarks and respond to the public posts. Some hotels choose not to respond which further harms the public image of their brand. On the other hand, the hotel managers who choose to respond to the negative posts thereby creating a dialogue between the guest and hotel, helps to enhance the hotel's image as a hotel who cares about its guests. Similarly, positive feedback from other guests at a hotel will usually influence a final decision more than hearing it from a marketer's perspective in an advertisement.

Public perception is a key component of successful marketing, and this is an area in which customer service plays a pivotal role. Collaboration between marketing and customer service departments will allow for a greater opportunity to develop and maintain these crucial relationships resulting in increased promotion and sales by creating brand ambassadors. The accessibility of the internet makes digital marketing an important tool for companies who understand the importance of developing these relationships.