Customer 2.0

So the new issue of "New Thinking" arrived in my in-box the other day. New Thinking is a great free e-newsletter from web content guru Gerry McGovern.

In this latest issue, Gerry tackles the issue of the evolution of the modern customer: Today's customer, empowered by the web, is more cynical, more informed, more jaded and less loyal than past versions. He is resistant to "marketing speak" and prefers facts over emotions. It's a thought-provoking piece on how some of the traditional marketing tactics no longer work on today's customer and how the modern world requires "New Thinking."

You can read Gerry's latest e-newsletter here or catch up on past issues, organized by topic.

The reviews are in

More and more people turn to the web these days to perform product research before making significant purchases. They find information, advice, pricing, comparisons and product reviews. The end result is a very educated customer who often knows as much about a product as the sales person at the store.

Inside CRM has put together a great list of sites providing product reviews for everything from cars to computers to toys. Read and heed.

IdeaStorm

Move over "Contact Us" page. Dell has launched a website called IdeaStorm where anyone can post questions, comments or suggestions about Dell's products. Those ideas can then be viewed and ranked by the community-at-large bringing the best ideas to the surface. It's a ingenious way to engage and empower their customer base and provide a feedback mechanism. And it works too. Recently comments and suggestions led Dell to deliver a new option of an open source operating system on Dell computers.

IdeaStorm is a great example of a company using technology to better connect with its customers (and potential customers).