Emerald Management Reviews

Design/methodology/approach - Interviews managers and employees in over 100 companies which are employing the social applications of the Internet in order to effectively listen to what their customers want. Develops a framework to develop the right applications in different departments of company activities.

Findings - Social networking and user-generated content sites on the Web now allow consumers to organize campaigns against what they see as poor company performance or decisions; examples of targeted companies include Comcast, AOL, Dunkin' Donuts and CBS. However, CBS is also an example of how companies can positively respond by listening to their consumer via social applications. Companies can apply these social applications in different departments for the following areas and objectives: research and development (listening), marketing (talking), sales (energizing), customer support (supporting), and operations (managing).

Practical implications - Making social applications work requires that managers accept loss of control, expect resistance from some other managers, get backing from executives, begin small with measurable objectives, expand beyond projects, and stay focused on culture rather than technology.

Originality/value - Shows how blogs and social networking are increasingly relevant to customer relations.