You are an empowered consumer (and a new definition of Web 2.0)

Back in the days when there was neither the internet, unlimited choice nor the long tail we had fewer gatekeepers, less access to information and were – from today’s point of view – stuck with limited options. We had one telco, one bakery, one tv programme. If we had a bad experience with a company, we couldn’t do much about it.

Then the internet grew. Fast forward: today the possibilities are abundant. Many services have moved to the web and are available from more than one vendor. As a result, the landscape of shops has changed, too. On the high-traffic streets with high rents you will find coffee shops, cell phone shops, large chains and the odd pharmacy. All these shops share the same fate with the online services: Consumers have learned that they have a choice.

I thought a lot about the Cluetrain mantra “markets are conversations” this weekend. And about what the term “web 2.0” means to the regular web 2.0 customer (to avoid the term user). Here is my solution.

Web 2.0 means having a choice

I googled the phrase, apparently nobody has put it that way. Sure, web 2.0 is also about coming up with new cool services with cool names which nobody has thought of before (both service and name (-; ). But since it often only takes a decent programmer in India to clone a good idea, or a bigger company to buy a small idea because it is great (the idea), options develop quick- and easily.

Thus, a new pandora’s box is opened, one we didn’t know before (please read the first paragraph again). Which means the consumers (we) chose the one offering we like best, for whatever reason; mostly it comes down to a mix of product, price and customer service. With one important caveat. The order is only valid for the first time one shops somewhere. Whether I shop somewhere a second time will be defined by customer service.

Which poses a dilemma for many companies, since an important part of web 2.0 is the “empowered consumer”, due to the ease with which shopping experiences can be published and distributed on the internet. Which means that all of a sudden one cannot play deaf to the complaints but has to realize that customer service becomes nearly as important as the product or the price – or even more important.

Slowly, having a choice has crept into the consumers’ heads, as recent negative experiences on various blogs point out. And I can only chime in. If the clerk behind the counter is going to speak to his customer negatively about the customer before, I am willing to take my business elsewhere. If the guys in the bakery behave arrogantly because an older lady takes a bit longer to make her choice, it is my choice to buy the overpriced sandwich somewhere else. Loads of challenges for companies with myriads of opportunities to lose customers.

However, there is just another pandora’s box, because right about now, we, the consumers, have to embrace the power. Choose with care and knowledge. As Steve Gillmor put it in a recent Newsgang, “we knew what we were getting into when we chose to use Gmail.” Sure it is free, but there is a lock-in when all the data is stored in one place. Same with the bakery. If you know you will not like the service at a certain bakery, do not buy there. If you do, do not complain afterwards, you knew in advance.

I am not going to put another line with bold type in the end, you will have to do that for yourself. Realize your position as an individual in todays market. Not only say you are empowered, behave like an empowered consumer and take responsibility for it.

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